bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Effect of Pay‐for‐Performance in Nursing Homes: Evidence from State Medicaid Programs
Authors: Werner Rachel M. , Konetzka R. Tamara , Polsky Daniel
Published: February 2013

Objective

Pay‐for‐performance (P4P) is commonly used to improve health care quality in the United States and is expected to be frequently implemented under the Affordable Care Act. However, evidence supporting its use is mixed with few large‐scale, rigorous evaluations of P4P. This study tests the effect of P4P on quality of care in a large‐scale setting—the implementation of P4P for nursing homes by state Medicaid agencies.

Data Sources/Study Setting

2001–2009 nursing home Minimum Data Set and Online Survey, Certification, and Reporting (OSCAR) datasets.

Study Design

Between 2001 and 2009, eight state Medicaid agencies adopted P4P programs in nursing homes. We use a difference‐in‐differences approach to test for changes in nursing home quality under P4P, taking advantage of the variation in timing of implementation across these eight states and using nursing homes in the 42 non‐P4P states plus Washington, DC as contemporaneous controls.

Principal Findings

Quality improvement under P4P was inconsistent. While three clinical quality measures (the percent of residents being physically restrained, in moderate to severe pain, and developed pressure sores) improved with the implementation of P4P in states with P4P compared with states without P4P, other targeted quality measures either did not change or worsened. Of the two structural measures of quality that were tied to payment (total number of deficiencies and nurse staffing) deficiency rates worsened slightly under P4P while staffing levels did not change.

Conclusions

Medicaid‐based P4P in nursing homes did not result in consistent improvements in nursing home quality. Expectations for improvement in nursing home care under P4P should be tempered.
Microsimulation of Private Health Insurance and Medicaid Take‐Up Following the U.S. Supreme Court Decision Upholding the Affordable Care Act
Authors: Parente Stephen T. , Feldman Roger
Published: February 2013

Objective

To predict take‐up of private health insurance and Medicaid following the U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

Data Sources

Data came from three large employers and a sampling of premiums from ehealthinsurance.com. We supplemented the employer data with information on state Medicaid eligibility and costs from the Kaiser Family Foundation. National predictions were based on the MEPS Household Component.

Study Design

We estimated a conditional logit model of health plan choice in the large group market. Using the coefficients from the choice model, we predicted take‐up in the group and individual health insurance markets. Following ACA implementation, we added choices to the individual market corresponding to plans that will be available in state and federal exchanges. Depending on eligibility for premium subsidies, we reduced the out‐of‐pocket premiums for those choices. We simulated several possible patterns for states opting out of the Medicaid expansion, as allowed by the Supreme Court.

Principal Findings

The ACA will increase coverage substantially in the private insurance market and Medicaid. HSAs will remain desirable in both the individual and employer markets.

Conclusions

If states opt out of the Medicaid expansion, this could increase the federal cost of health reform, while reducing the number of newly covered lives.
Tax Subsidies for Employer‐Sponsored Health Insurance: Updated Microsimulation Estimates and Sensitivity to Alternative Incidence Assumptions
Authors: Miller G. Edward , Selden Thomas M.
Published: February 2013

Objective

To estimate 2012 tax expenditures for employer‐sponsored insurance (ESI) in the United States and to explore the sensitivity of estimates to assumptions regarding the incidence of employer premium contributions.

Data Sources

Nationally representative Medical Expenditure Panel Survey data from the 2005–2007 Household Component (MEPS‐HC) and the 2009–2010 Insurance Component (MEPS IC).

Study Design

We use MEPS HC workers to construct synthetic workforces for MEPS IC establishments, applying the workers' marginal tax rates to the establishments' insurance premiums to compute the tax subsidy, in aggregate and by establishment characteristics. Simulation enables us to examine the sensitivity of ESI tax subsidy estimates to a range of scenarios for the within‐firm incidence of employer premium contributions when workers have heterogeneous health risks and make heterogeneous plan choices.

Principal Findings

We simulate the total ESI tax subsidy for all active, civilian U.S. workers to be $257.4 billion in 2012. In the private sector, the subsidy disproportionately flows to workers in large establishments and establishments with predominantly high wage or full‐time workforces. The estimates are remarkably robust to alternative incidence assumptions.

Conclusions

The aggregate value of the ESI tax subsidy and its distribution across firms can be reliably estimated using simplified incidence assumptions.
Different paths to sexual size dimorphism in two praying mantids, Pseudomantis albofimbriata and Hierodula majuscula
Authors: Allen Louise E. , Barry Katherine L. , Holwell Gregory I.
Published: February 2013

Sexual size dimorphism (SSD) is widespread among diverse animal taxa and has attracted the attention of evolutionary biologists for over a century. SSD is likely to be adaptive and the result of divergent selection on different size optima for males and females, given their different roles in reproduction. The developmental trajectory leading to SSD may help us to understand how selection acts on male and female size. Here, we describe the growth and development of two Australian praying mantids, Pseudomantis albofimbriata and Hierodula majuscula including the number of moults, time to adulthood, size at each moult, and the degree of SSD. While both species exhibit the common pattern of female‐biased SSD, the number of moults required for individuals to reach adulthood differed between males and females and between species. Despite their larger adult size, P. albofimbriata females require fewer moults and less time than males to reach adulthood, but are significantly larger than males from the second instar onwards. In contrast, H. majuscula males reached adulthood in fewer moults, and less time than females, however males and females did not differ in size until females went through their final moult into adulthood. H. majuscula also required more time and more moults to reach adulthood than P. albofimbriata. We discuss these different developmental pathways in light of the existing knowledge of reproductive biology for each species. We also suggest that these differences may relate to the different phenologies that occur in strongly seasonal temperate environments compared with those in the tropics. This study provides evidence that SSD can result from two different patterns of growth and development in closely related species.
Development of SNP markers identifying European wildcats, domestic cats, and their admixed progeny
Authors: Nussberger B. , Greminger M. P. , Grossen C. , Keller L. F. , Wandeler P.
Published: February 2013

Introgression can be an important evolutionary force but it can also lead to species extinction and as such is a crucial issue for species conservation. However, introgression is difficult to detect, morphologically as well as genetically. Hybridization with domestic cats (Felis silvestris catus) is a major concern for the conservation of European wildcats (Felis s. silvestris). The available morphologic and genetic markers for the two Felis subspecies are not sufficient to reliably detect hybrids beyond first generation. Here we present a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) based approach that allows the identification of introgressed individuals. Using high‐throughput sequencing of reduced representation libraries we developed a diagnostic marker set containing 48 SNPs (Fst > 0.8) which allows the identification of wildcats, domestic cats, their hybrids and backcrosses. This allows assessing introgression rate in natural wildcat populations and is key for a better understanding of hybridization processes.
Defective immunoglobulin A (IgA) glycosylation and IgA deposits in patients with IgA nephropathy
Authors: Kolka Ragnhildur , Valdimarsson Helgi , Bodvarsson Magnus , Hardarson Sverrir , Jonsson Thorbjorn
Published: February 2013

Defective glycosylation and immune complex (IC) formation may be of primary importance in immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN) pathogenesis. The aim of this study was to determine whether defective IgA1 glycosylation might support renal deposition of IgA and disease activity. IgA was isolated from the serum of 44 IgAN patients and 46 controls and glycosylation analysed by ELISA using glycan‐specific lectins. IgA was measured by immunodiffusion and immune complexes by ELISA. IgA subclasses in IC deposits in kidney glomeruli were identified by immunohistochemical methods. A significant increase in N‐acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc) in terminal position (p = 0.02) observed in some of the IgAN patients, became more pronounced when sialic acid was removed from IgA1, indicating enhanced expression of α‐2,6‐sialyltransferase in patients compared with controls (p < 0.0001). Patients with defective galactosylation had lower serum IgA than other IgAN patients (p = 0.003). IgAN patients with both IgA1 and IgA2 glomerular deposits (21.7%) had increased GalNAc in terminal position (p = 0.003). Taken together, our results show that increased IgA glycosylation in IgAN associates with low levels of IgA, concomitant IgA1 and IgA2 glomerular deposits and poor clinical outcome.
Switch of cadherin expression as a diagnostic tool for Leydig cell tumours
Authors: Bremmer F , Schweyer S , Martin‐Ortega M , Hemmerlein B , Strauss A , Radzun HJ , Behnes CL
Published: February 2013

Leydig cell tumours comprise about 3% of all testicular tumours. The pathogenesis of Leydig cell tumours is still poorly understood. We investigated testis with Leydig cell hyperplasia and Leydig cell tumours for their expression pattern of P‐ and N‐cadherin. We could show a switch of expression of P‐ and N‐cadherin in Leydig cell hyperplasia and Leydig cell tumours in comparison with normal Leydig cells. Cadherins could be established as a new immunohistochemical marker for this testicular tumour entity; their possible role in tumour genesis will be discussed.
Identification of Peptides with ELAV‐like mRNA‐Stabilizing Effect: An Integrated In Vitro/In Silico Approach
Authors: Amadio Marialaura , Pascale Alessia , Govoni Stefano , Laurini Erik , Pricl Sabrina , Gaggeri Raffaella , Rossi Daniela , Collina Simona
Published: February 2013

Embryonic lethal abnormal vision (ELAV) proteins are RNA‐binding proteins that bind specific adenine and uridine‐rich elements mainly located in the 3′‐untranslated region of target mRNAs, preventing their otherwise rapid degradation and thus increasing gene expression. Starting from our previous discovery and applying an integrated in vitro/in silico approach, herein we report a deeper understanding of the mRNA‐stabilizing activity of four peptides derived from the ELAV proteins structure. The stabilizing effect on the VEGF transcript (mRNAVEGF) exerted by each peptide, tested individually, was initially evaluated, and no effects were evidenced. Hence, the biological effects of all peptides couples were investigated. Interestingly, in accordance with preliminary molecular dynamics results, only one of all possible peptide couples resulted highly effective in stabilizing mRNAVEGF. These two peptides were thus identified as valuable starting point for designing small molecules with ELAV‐mimicking properties.
Happiness, subjective and objective oral health status, and oral health behaviors among Korean elders
Authors: Yoon Hyun‐Seo , Kim Hae‐Young , Patton Lauren L. , Chun Jin‐Ho , Bae Kwang‐Hak , Lee Mi‐Ok
Published: February 2013

Objectives

This study aims to comprehensively assess the association of subjective and objective oral health status and oral health behaviors with happiness, under consideration of demographic, socioeconomic, and general health‐related factors. This study also aims to test whether subjective oral health outcomes are better predictors of happiness compared with objective oral health outcomes.

Methods

The data were collected from 479 community‐dwelling elders aged 65 years or over selected by a cluster sampling method. A questionnaire and an oral examination were implemented. A multiple regression method was conducted to assess associations with happiness index (HI).

Results

The mean age of the elders was 74.6 years. Mean (standard deviation, SD) HI, EuroQol‐visual analog scale (EQ‐VAS) and 14‐item oral health impact profile (OHIP‐14) index were 5.7 (SD 2.3), 59.8 (SD 21.1), and 16.3 (SD 13.1). In the final model, a significant association with HI of the OHIP‐14 index (P = 0.091) among all the participants and significant associations of oral symptoms (P = 0.038), wearing a removable denture (P = 0.039), and of the oral health behavior of daily toothbrushing (P = 0.007) among poorer oral health QoL group were confirmed under consideration of other related factors. While correlations of HI to subjective measures of health, EQ‐VAS and OHIP‐14 score were moderate to weak, those to objective measures of health were only weak or insignificant.

Conclusions

Oral impacts which might persistently affect one's daily life need to be considered in designing and delivering public services aimed to promote people's happiness. With oral health impacts and behaviors accounting for 10% of happiness among elders, public and community services for the elderly that support oral health and daily toothbrushing for the dentate are critical for the well‐being of our elders.
Atopy phenotypes in the Childhood Asthma Prevention Study (CAPS) cohort and the relationship with allergic disease
Authors: Garden F. L. , Simpson J. M. , Marks G. B. ,   for the CAPS Investigators
Published: February 2013

Background

Atopy in early life is heterogeneous in timing of onset, remission and persistence and in the nature of specific sensitization to allergens. However, this heterogeneity is not well characterized.

Objective

Our aim was to define longitudinal phenotypes of atopy between ages 1.5 and 8 years, and to assess the relationship of the atopy phenotypes to the risk of asthma, eczema and rhinitis at 8 years of age.

Methods

We used latent class analysis (LCA) to define atopy phenotypes using data from skin prick tests that were performed at 1.5, 3, 5 and 8 years in participants in the Childhood Asthma Prevention Study (CAPS).

Results

Four phenotypes were defined: late mixed inhalant sensitization; mixed food and inhalant sensitization; house dust mite (HDM) monosensitized; and no atopy. All three atopic phenotypes were associated with asthma, eczema and rhinitis, but the strongest association, particularly for asthma, was with the mixed food and inhalant sensitization phenotype.

Conclusion & clinical relevance

We have used a LCA model to define atopy phenotypes empirically. The finding of a strong association between the mixed food and inhalant sensitization class and the presence of asthma and poor asthma control at age 8 years implies that food sensitization in early life may be of greater significance for subsequent risk of asthma than previously thought.
Anal mucosectomy for haemorrhoids: should we start to speak Chinese?
Authors: Dindo D. , Hahnloser D.
Published: February 2013

Aim

Circular stapled mucosectomy is the standard therapy for the treatment of symptomatic third‐degree haemorrhoids and mucosal prolapse. Recently, new staplers made in China have entered the market offering an alternative to the PPH stapling devices. The aim of this prospective randomized study was to compare the safety and efficacy of these new devices.

Methods

Fifty patients with symptomatic third‐degree haemorrhoids were randomized to mucosectomy either by using stapler A (CPH32; Frankenman International Ltd, Hong Kong, China; n = 25) or stapler B (PPH03; Ethicon Endo‐Surgery, Spreitenbach, Switzerland; n = 25). All procedures were performed by two experienced surgeons. After the stapler was fired by one surgeon, the other surgeon, who was blinded for stapler type, evaluated the stapler line. Postoperative outcome including pain, complications and patient satisfaction were analysed.

Results

Demographic and clinical features were no different between the groups. There was no significant difference regarding venous bleeding (P = 0.55), but arterial bleeding was significantly more frequent when stapler B was used (P < 0.001). This led to significantly more suture ligations (P = 0.002). However, no differences regarding operation time (P = 0.99), weight of the resected mucosa (P = 0.81) and height of the stapler line (anterior, P = 0.18; posterior, P = 0.65) were detected. Postoperative pain scores (visual analogue scale) and patient satisfaction were no different either (P = 0.91 and P = 0.78, respectively). No recurrence or incontinence occurred during follow‐up.

Conclusions

CPH32 required significantly fewer sutures for bleeding control along the stapler line after circular mucosectomy. However, operation time, rate of postoperative complications and patient satisfaction were similar in both groups.
Prevalence and predictive factors of the need for surgery for advanced colorectal adenoma
Authors: Desgrippes R. , Beauchamp C. , Henno S. , Bouguen G. , Siproudhis L. , Bretagne J.‐F.
Published: February 2013

Aim

Endoscopic resection is the primary treatment for colorectal adenoma, but in some cases surgery is necessary. The aim of this retrospective study was to define the prevalence and predictive factors for surgery in patients with advanced colorectal adenoma managed in a referral endoscopy centre.

Method

Consecutive patients diagnosed with advanced adenoma (Class 4 in the Vienna classification) during a colonoscopy from 2007 to 2009 in the endoscopy centre of the University Hospital of Rennes were included. Predictive factors of surgery were determined by univariate and multivariate analysis.

Results

Two‐hundred and twelve (135 male) patients with a mean age of 65.8 years were included. The reason for colonoscopy was for diagnosis in 63.2%, surveillance in 25.5% and screening in 11.3%. These referred patients amounted to 20.8% of all patients having colonoscopy. Surgery was performed in 13.7% of the 212 patients and in 16 (8.3%) of the 192 patients in whom endoscopic removal was attempted. In the subgroup of 192 patients, univariate analysis revealed that body mass index (P = 0.04), histology (P = 0.002), size (P = 0.03) and macroscopic appearance (P < 0.001) of the polyp were associated with surgery. Multivariate analysis revealed that the macroscopic appearance and histology only were significantly associated with surgery.

Conclusion

Surgery was needed in 13.7% of patients with an advanced adenoma, but in only 8.3% of the subgroup of 192 patients in whom endoscopic removal was attempted. Factors associated with surgery included macroscopic appearance and histology.
Disseminated tumour cells in bone marrow in experimental colon cancer: metastatic or resident?
Authors: Barone M. , Altomare D. F. , Rotelli M. T. , Scavo M. P. , Piscitelli D. , De Tullio N. , Bocale D. , Di Leo A.
Published: February 2013

Aim

There are conflicting data on the biological and prognostic significance of disseminated tumour cells (DTCs) in the bone marrow of colorectal cancer patients since bone metastasis is rare in this disease. The study aimed to determine the origin of bone marrow DTCs using human colorectal cancer cells in in vivo and in vitro experimental settings.

Method

CD1 nude female mice were xenotransplanted with SW620 cells (a colorectal cancer cell line isolated from a male patient) injected in the colon wall. At autopsy, the presence of SW620 in the bone marrow (BM), colon and other organs/tissues was recognized by detection of the epithelial marker cytokeratin‐19 (CK19) and Y chromosome. In addition SW620 cells or their conditioned medium were cultured with human BM cells.

Results

Macroscopically evident CK19+/Y‐chromosome‐positive tumours developed only in five mice receiving SW620 cells while putative DTCs (CK19+) were found in the bone marrow of all treated mice. Most of these CK19+ cells were Y chromosome negative, only few being Y chromosome positive. In vitro SW620 cells or their conditioned medium induced CK19 expression in cultured human bone marrow cells.

Conclusion

Experimental colorectal cancer can induce the appearance of two distinct CK19+ cell populations in the bone marrow, one of metastatic origin and the other of murine origin. These findings suggest that bone marrow cells may undergo phenotypic modifications induced by cancer cells.
Laparoscopic treatment of advanced colonic cancer: a case‐matched control with open surgery
Authors: Vignali A. , Ghirardelli L. , Di Palo S. , Orsenigo E. , Staudacher C.
Published: February 2013

Aim

The safety, feasibility and oncological results of laparoscopic resection for advanced colon cancer were evaluated.

Method

Seventy consecutive patients with a histologically proven T4 colon cancer who underwent laparoscopic (LPS) right or left colectomy were matched for comorbidity on admission (American Society of Anesthesiologists score), tumour stage and grading with 70 patients who underwent open colectomy over a 10‐year period. Short‐ and long‐term outcome measures were evaluated.

Results

The overall conversion rate was 7.1%. Less intra‐operative blood loss (P = 0.01), a trend toward a longer operation time (P = 0.09) and a lower peri‐operative blood transfusion rate (P = 0.06) were observed in the LPS group. A similar number of lymph nodes were retrieved (P = 0.37) and the R1 resection rate (P = 0.51) was no different in the two groups. The overall mortality rate was 1.4%. The overall morbidity rate was 21.4% (15/70 patients) in the LPS group and 27.5% (19/70 patients) in the open group (P = 0.42), with anastomotic leakage rates of 7.1% and 4.2% (P = 0.32). Length of stay was shorter after LPS (P = 0.009). Five‐year overall survival rate (P = 0.18) and disease‐free survival rate (P = 0.20) did not differ significantly between the two groups.

Conclusion

Laparoscopic treatment of T4 colon cancer is safe and feasible and provides a similar surgical and oncological outcome compared with the open technique.
Assessing the Need for a Research Ethics Remediation Program
Authors: DuBois James M. , Anderson Emily E. , Chibnall John
Published: February 2013

With supplement funding to the Washington University CTSA, the Restoring Professionalism and Integrity in Research (RePAIR) program was developed at Saint Louis University to meet the remediation needs of institutions nationwide regarding investigators who violate research regulations. With the aim of determining the frequency and kinds of wrongdoing at leading research institutions in the United States, as well as institutional responses and levels of interest in a formal remediation program, an online questionnaire was distributed by email to a research integrity officer (RIO) and institutional review board (IRB) chair at all medical schools and comprehensive doctoral institutions in the United States (N = 194). One hundred sixty‐one individuals responded (44%) representing 66% of institutions. For those institutions that had both RIOs and IRB chairs responding, 96% had investigated at least one case over the past 2 years; the modal individual response was 3–5 cases, with a range from 0 to more than 16 cases. The most common forms of wrongdoing were violations of procedure, informed consent, research integrity (fabrication, falsification, plagiarism), privacy, and conflict of interest policies. Most RIOs and IRB chairs expressed interest in the RePAIR program, despite concerns about costs and faculty resistance.
Mechanisms of acute exacerbation of respiratory symptoms in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Authors: Roca Mihai , Verduri Alessia , Corbetta Lorenzo , Clini Enrico , Fabbri Leonardo M. , Beghé Bianca
Published: February 2013

Exacerbations of chronic obstructive respiratory disease (ECOPD) are acute events characterized by worsening of the patient's respiratory symptoms, particularly dyspnoea, leading to change in medical treatment and/or hospitalisation. AECOP are considered respiratory diseases, with reference to the respiratory nature of symptoms and to the involvement of airways and lung. Indeed respiratory infections and/or air pollution are the main causes of ECOPD. They cause an acute inflammation of the airways and the lung on top of the chronic inflammation that is associated with COPD. This acute inflammation is responsible of the development of acute respiratory symptoms (in these cases the term ECOPD is appropriate). However, the acute inflammation caused by infections/pollutants is almost associated with systemic inflammation, that may cause acute respiratory symptoms through decompensation of concomitant chronic diseases (eg acute heart failure, thromboembolism, etc) almost invariably associated with COPD. Most concomitant chronic diseases share with COPD not only the underlying chronic inflammation of the target organs (i.e. lungs, myocardium, vessels, adipose tissue), but also clinical manifestations like fatigue and dyspnoea. For this reason, in patients with multi‐morbidity (eg COPD with chronic heart failure and hypertension, etc), the exacerbation of respiratory symptoms may be particularly difficult to investigate, as it may be caused by exacerbation of COPD and/or ≥ comorbidity, (e.g. decompensated heart failure, arrhythmias, thromboembolisms) without necessarily involving the airways and lung. In these cases the term ECOPD is inappropriate and misleading.
Myasthenia gravis – treatment of acute severe exacerbations in the intensive care unit results in a favourable long‐term prognosis
Authors: Spillane J. , Hirsch N. P. , Kullmann D. M. , Taylor C. , Howard R. S.
Published: February 2013

Background and purpose

Acute severe exacerbations of myasthenia gravis (MG) are common in both early and late onset MG. We wished to examine the current management in the intensive care unit (ICU) of severe exacerbations of MG and to study the long‐term prognosis of MG following discharge from the ICU.

Methods

We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of all patients admitted to a specialist neuro‐ICU with acute exacerbations of MG over a 12‐year period.

Results

We identified 38 patients. Over 60% were over the age of 50 years, and MG was newly diagnosed in over 40%. Intubation was required in 63%, and over 90% of patients were treated with prednisolone and/or intravenous immunoglobulin. Four patients died in hospital. The remainder of patients were followed up for a mean of 4 years, and the majority were either asymptomatic or had mild symptoms of MG at clinical review.

Conclusions

Despite the significant morbidity and mortality associated with severe exacerbations of MG, specialized neurointensive care can result in a good long‐term prognosis in both early‐ and late‐onset MG.
Costs of crowding for the transmission of malaria parasites
Authors: Pollitt Laura. C. , Churcher Thomas S. , Dawes Emma J. , Khan Shahid M. , Sajid Mohammed , Basáñez María‐Gloria , Colegrave Nick , Reece Sarah E.
Published: February 2013

The utility of using evolutionary and ecological frameworks to understand the dynamics of infectious diseases is gaining increasing recognition. However, integrating evolutionary ecology and infectious disease epidemiology is challenging because within‐host dynamics can have counterintuitive consequences for between‐host transmission, especially for vector‐borne parasites. A major obstacle to linking within‐ and between‐host processes is that the drivers of the relationships between the density, virulence, and fitness of parasites are poorly understood. By experimentally manipulating the intensity of rodent malaria (Plasmodium berghei) infections in Anopheles stephensi mosquitoes under different environmental conditions, we show that parasites experience substantial density‐dependent fitness costs because crowding reduces both parasite proliferation and vector survival. We then use our data to predict how interactions between parasite density and vector environmental conditions shape within‐vector processes and onward disease transmission. Our model predicts that density‐dependent processes can have substantial and unexpected effects on the transmission potential of vector‐borne disease, which should be considered in the development and evaluation of transmission‐blocking interventions.
Dispersal syndromes and the use of life‐histories to predict dispersal
Authors: Stevens Virginie M. , Trochet Audrey , Blanchet Simon , Moulherat Sylvain , Clobert Jean , Baguette Michel
Published: February 2013

Due to its impact on local adaptation, population functioning or range shifts, dispersal is considered a central process for population persistence and species evolution. However, measuring dispersal is complicated, which justifies the use of dispersal proxies. Although appealing, and despite its general relationship with dispersal, body size has however proven unsatisfactory as a dispersal proxy. Our hypothesis here is that, given the existence of dispersal syndromes, suites of life‐history traits may be alternative, more appropriate proxies for dispersal. We tested this idea by using butterflies as a model system. We demonstrate that different elements of the dispersal process (i.e., individual movement rates, distances, and gene flow) are correlated with different suites of life‐history traits: these various elements of dispersal form separate syndromes and must be considered real axes of a species' niche. We then showed that these syndromes allowed accurate predictions of dispersal. The use of life‐history traits improved the precision of the inferences made from wing size alone by up to five times. Such trait‐based predictions thus provided reliable dispersal inferences that can feed simulation models aiming at investigating the dynamics and evolution of butterfly populations, and possibly of other organisms, under environmental changes, to help their conservation.
The sound of silence: autosomal recessive congenital ichthyosis caused by a synonymous mutation in ABCA12
Authors: Goldsmith Tomer , Fuchs‐Telem Dana , Israeli Shirli , Sarig Ofer , Padalon‐Brauch Gilly , Bergman Reuven , Indelman Margarita , Sprecher Eli , Nousbeck Janna
Published: February 2013

Autosomal recessive congenital ichthyosis refers to a heterogeneous group of cornification disorders of major impact on patients’ life. The disease has been linked so far to mutations in 8 distinct genes. We report a consanguineous family of Arab Muslim origin with several members displaying a severe form of congenital ichthyosiform erythroderma. Using a panel of polymorphic microsatellite markers, we identified a region of homozygosity shared by all patients on 2q34, in a region harbouring the ABCA12 gene. Direct sequencing of genomic DNA derived from a patient failed to reveal any obviously pathogenic change in the coding sequence of this gene. In contrast, cDNA sequence analysis revealed the existence of a 163‐bp‐long deletion in exon 24, thus pointing to a splicing defect. Careful reanalysis of the genomic DNA sequence revealed apart from several known single‐nucleotide polymorphisms, a hitherto unreported homozygous synonymous mutation in exon 24 (c.3456G>A; p.S1152S), which was found to lead to the formation of a novel splicing acceptor site. Synonymous mutations have been shown to uncommonly cause inherited disorders in humans. Here, we present the first example of a congenital form of ichthyosis resulting from such a genetic defect.
Molecular indicators of microbial diversity in oolitic sands of Highborne Cay, Bahamas
Authors: Edgcomb V. P. , Bernhard J. M. , Beaudoin D. , Pruss S. , Welander P. V. , Schubotz F. , Mehay S. , Gillespie A. L. , Summons R. E.
Published: February 2013

Microbialites (stromatolites and thrombolites) are mineralized mat structures formed via the complex interactions of diverse microbial‐mat communities. At Highborne Cay, in the Bahamas, the carbonate component of these features is mostly comprised of ooids. These are small, spherical to ellipsoidal grains characterized by concentric layers of calcium carbonate and organic matter and these sand‐sized particles are incorporated with the aid of extra‐cellular polymeric substances (EPS), into the matrix of laminated stromatolites and clotted thrombolite mats. Here, we present a comparison of the bacterial diversity within oolitic sand samples and bacterial diversity previously reported in thrombolitic and stromatolitic mats of Highborne Cay based on analysis of clone libraries of small subunit ribosomal RNA gene fragments and lipid biomarkers. The 16S‐rRNA data indicate that the overall bacterial diversity within ooids is comparable to that found within thrombolites and stromatolites of Highborne Cay, and this significant overlap in taxonomic groups suggests that ooid sands may be a source for much of the bacterial diversity found in the local microbialites. Cyanobacteria were the most diverse taxonomic group detected, followed by Alphaproteobacteria, Gammaproteobacteria, Planctomyces, Deltaproteobacteria, and several other groups also found in mat structures. The distributions of intact polar lipids, the fatty acids derived from them, and bacteriohopanepolyols provide broad general support for the bacterial diversity identified through analysis of nucleic acid clone libraries.
Benefits of mixing grasses and legumes for herbage yield and nutritive value inNorthernEurope andCanada
Authors: Sturludóttir E. , Brophy C. , Bélanger G. , Gustavsson A.‐M. , Jørgensen M. , Lunnan T. , Helgadóttir Á.
Published: February 2013

Increased biodiversity may improve ecosystem services, including herbage yield. A mixture experiment was carried out at five sites inNorthernEurope and one inCanada to investigate whether mixtures of grasses and legumes would give higher herbage yield than monocultures. Resistance of the mixtures to weed invasion and nutritive value of the herbage were also investigated. The experimental layout followed a simplex design, where four species differing in specific functional traits, timothy (Phleum pratenseL.), smooth meadow grass (Poa pratensisL.), red clover (Trifolium pratenseL.) and white clover (Trifolium repensL.), were grown in monocultures and eleven different mixtures with systematically varying proportions of the four species. Positive diversity effects (DE) were observed, leading to greater herbage dry‐matter (DM) yield in mixtures than expected from species sown in monocultures. For centroid mixtures, theDEgenerated on average an additional 32, 25 and 21% of theDMyield than would be expected from the monocultures in the first, second and third year respectively. On average, the mixtures were 9, 15 and 7% more productive than the most productive monoculture (transgressive overyielding) in the first, second and third year respectively. These benefits persisted over the three harvest years of the experiment and were consistent among most sites. This positive effect was not accompanied by a reduction in herbage digestibility and crude protein concentration that is usually observed with increasedDMyield. Mixtures also reduced the invasion of weeds to <5% of herbage yield compared to monocultures (10–60% of herbage yield).
Expression of Ep‐CAM, but not of E48, associates with nodal involvement in advanced squamous cell carcinomas of the larynx
Authors: Romeu Coia , Farré Xavier , Cardesa Antonio , Nadal Alfons
Published: February 2013

Aims

To evaluate epithelial cell adhesion molecule (Ep‐CAM) and E48 expression, and their relationship with histological differentiation and nodal metastasis, in laryngeal squamous cell carcinomas (SCC).

Methods and results

The expression of Ep‐CAM and E48 was investigated using immunohistochemistry in a series of 66 SCC (stages 3 and 4) and their adjacent non‐neoplastic epithelia. Ep‐CAM expression increased with the progression from normal squamous epithelium to SCC. It was detected in 96% of carcinomas and high levels of Ep‐CAM expression (50% or more positive cells) were associated with poorer differentiation (P = 0.003) and the presence of lymph node metastases (P = 0.001). E48 expression was characteristically strong and diffuse in non‐neoplastic squamous epithelium, and decreased with progression to SCC. Poorly differentiated (grade 4) tumours had lower proportions of E48‐positive cells than well‐ to moderately‐ differentiated cases (P < 0.001).

Conclusions

Expression of both Ep‐CAM and E48 correlated with cell differentiation, although in inverse fashion. In particular, the association between high levels of Ep‐CAM expression and high frequency of nodal metastases suggests that Ep‐CAM plays a role in the development of lymph node metastases in SCC of the larynx.
REGULATORY OPPORTUNISM: CROSS‐NATIONAL PATTERNS IN NATIONAL BANKING REGULATORY RESPONSES FOLLOWING THE GLOBAL FINANCIAL CRISIS
Authors: YOUNG KEVIN L. , PARK SUNG HO
Published: February 2013

The variation in national regulatory responses to the recent global financial crisis has been considerable. This article explores this variation using new data on conditions in 30 different OECD countries between 2009 and 2012. Using a mixed‐method approach which employs both fuzzy‐set qualitative comparative analysis and logistic regression, we test a number of hypotheses regarding regulatory response patterns in the banking sector. Our findings suggest that while state intervention during the financial crisis was a necessary condition for a significant regulatory response, ‘financialization’, operationalized here
as the structural dominance of the financial sector in the economy, plays a more important role. We show that financialization is both a sufficient condition and a good predictor of a significant regulatory response, and point to possible causal explanations for this surprising pattern.
Norepinephrine Transport Inhibition for Treatment of Vasovagal Syncope
Authors: SHELDON ROBERT S. , RITCHIE DEBBIE , MCRAE MAUREEN , RAJ SATISH
Published: February 2013

Norepinephrine Transporter and Syncope

 Introduction

Norepinephrine transporter inhibitors, such as sibutramine, have been shown to prevent vasovagal syncope induced by tilt testing in healthy volunteers. As a test of concept we assessed whether sibutramine prevents fainting in highly symptomatic VVS patients.

Methods and Results

This was an open label, dose‐ranging protocol of sibutramine 10, 15, and 20 mg daily for ≥4 weeks per dose, with progression dictated by response and tolerance. Responders were predefined as having >50% reduction in spell frequency, compared to baseline spell frequency. The cohort included seven subjects (6 women; 32 ± 7 years) who had a median of 593 faints over a median of 180 months. The patients had had 7 ± 4 previous treatment attempts without a satisfactory response. The mean duration of exposure to 10 mg, 15 mg, and 20 mg doses were 45 ± 33 days, 98 ± 89 days, and 137 ± 83 days. Six patients tolerated the maximum dose, and 1 patient dropped out due to adverse effects at 15 mg/day. The median frequency of spells at baseline, 10, 15, and 20 mg/day was 12, 4.4, 2.8, and 1 events/28 days (P = 0.0048). Five patients were responders and 2 were nonresponders. Among responders, the median frequency of spells at baseline, 10, 15, and 20 mg/day was 14, 4.8, 0.8, and 0.4 events per 28 days (P = 0.0089). No patients developed hypertension.

Conclusion

In this open label series, sibutramine prevented vasovagal syncope in most highly symptomatic patients.
Generation time extension for cost‐effective strain maintenance of transgenic Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata [Diptera: Tephritidae]
Authors: Ogaugwu C. E. , Curril I. M. , Wimmer E. A.
Published: February 2013

Molecular technologies have enabled the generation of various transgenic insect strains for the area‐wide control of agricultural pests and vectors of human diseases. Individual maintenance of several diverse transgenic lines or strains involves a lot of resources, and sometimes problems arise that threaten the strains being maintained. Here, we present a way to cost‐effectively maintain transgenic lines or strains of the Mediterranean fruit fly Ceratitis capitata by extending their generation time. Immature stages were kept at 20°C instead of 28°C, and the subsequent generation of transgenic flies kept at different temperatures were found to have laboratory fecundity comparable to the untreated transgenic flies. Extension of generation time offers inexpensive strain maintenance as it reduces the resources, time and energy spent on maintenance of transgenic medfly strains, in addition to minimizing exposure of strains to problems sometimes associated with strain maintenance.
Genetic differentiation and hybridization in two naturally occurring sympatric trout Salmo spp. forms from a small karstic lake
Authors: Gratton P. , Allegrucci G. , Gandolfi A. , Sbordoni V.
Published: February 2013

In this study, multiple molecular markers [genotyping of 12 nuclear microsatellite loci and the protein‐coding gene ldh‐c1* plus sequencing of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region] were employed to investigate the genetic structure of the two trout forms, Salmo cettii and Salmo fibreni, inhabiting Lake Posta Fibreno, central Italy. The two forms were found to share a unique mtDNA haplotype, belonging to a widespread Mediterranean haplogroup (AD). Bayesian clustering analyses showed that these two forms correspond to well‐defined autochthonous gene pools. Genetic introgression between the two gene pools, however, was observed, whose frequency appears to correlate with the environmental features of the spawning sites. The interplay of selection for the spawning sites, philopatry and natural selection can be argued to maintain genetic differentiation despite the lack of complete reproductive isolation.
Constipation associated with brumation? Intestinal obstruction caused by a fecalith in a wild red diamond rattlesnake (Crotalus ruber)
Authors: Corbit A. G. , Person C. , Hayes W. K.
Published: February 2013

This report describes the fecalith‐induced intestinal obstruction of a free‐ranging red diamond rattlesnake (Crotalus ruber) and the snake's subsequent history following surgical removal of the fecalith. The captured snake exhibited an abnormally distended abdomen and an extremely hard mass, detected via palpation, near its vent. Coeliotomy yielded a 2.5‐cm, 5‐g fecalith from the large intestine. Microscopic dissection of the fecalith revealed no evidence of gastrointestinal parasitic worms. Subsequently, we implanted a radio‐transmitter that allowed us to track the snake's movements for 7 months (until the radio signal vanished), indicating normal behaviour, complete recovery and good health apart from the obstruction. This observation suggests that fecalith development and intestinal obstruction represent potential risks of long‐term faecal retention, an unusual physiological trait well documented among rattlesnakes and other stout, heavy‐bodied terrestrial viperid snakes. Dehydration and decreased gut motility associated with brumation (≈hibernation) may predispose temperate snakes to fecalith formation. Regional drought and a small mammal diet with indigestible hairs might have also promoted fecalith formation in this specimen.
Slow wave activity and slow oscillations in sleepwalkers and controls: effects of 38 h of sleep deprivation
Authors: Perrault Rosemarie , Carrier Julie , Desautels Alex , Montplaisir Jacques , Zadra Antonio
Published: February 2013

Sleepwalkers have been shown to have an unusually high number of arousals from slow wave sleep and lower slow wave activity (SWA) power during the night than controls. Because sleep deprivation increases the frequency of slow wave sleep (SWS) arousals in sleepwalkers, it may also affect the expression of the homeostatic process to a greater extent than shown previously. We thus investigated SWA power as well as slow wave oscillation (SWO) density in 10 sleepwalkers and nine controls at baseline and following 38 h of sleep deprivation. There was a significant increase in SWA during participants' recovery sleep, especially during their second non‐rapid eye movement (NREM) period. SWO density was similarly increased during recovery sleep's first two NREM periods. A fronto‐central gradient in SWA and SWO was also present on both nights. However, no group differences were noted on any of the 2 nights on SWA or SWO. This unexpected result may be related to the heterogeneity of sleepwalkers as a population, as well as our small sample size. SWA pressure after extended sleep deprivation may also result in a ceiling effect in both sleepwalkers and controls.
Overlooking coerciveness: The impact of interrogation techniques and guilt corroboration on jurors’ judgments of coerciveness
Authors: Shaked‐Schroer Netta , Costanzo Mark , Berger Dale E.
Published: February 2013

Purpose

The present study investigated whether mock jurors judged the coerciveness of an interrogation differently based on whether or not a confession led to the discovery of corroborating evidence. Specifically, we examined whether jurors were likely to overlook tactics they would otherwise find objectionable if they were confident that the defendant was guilty.

Method

A 2 × 2 between‐subjects design was used to examine the influence of interrogation techniques (low pressure or high pressure) and level of guilt corroboration (uncorroborated or corroborated) on mock jurors' verdicts and ratings of an interrogation. Two hundred and two jury‐eligible participants read a case summary, watched a realistic video recording of an interrogation that included a confession, and read prosecution and defence closing arguments. Participants then decided on a verdict and answered a series of questions about the interrogation and confession.

Results

The interrogation was rated as significantly less coercive when the confession led to the discovery of corroborating evidence than when corroborating evidence was not found. Furthermore, participants who viewed a high‐pressure interrogation rated it as less coercive when the confession was corroborated by additional evidence than when it was not. There was no difference between the corroborated and uncorroborated conditions for the low‐pressure interrogation.

Conclusions

The present findings support the idea that more extreme tactics may be considered less coercive when they produce a greater certainty that the defendant is guilty. The results can be explained in terms of self‐presentation theories.
Remorse in oral and handwritten false confessions
Authors: Villar Gina , Arciuli Joanne , Paterson Helen M.
Published: February 2013

Purpose

The search for objective markers of a true versus false confession is an important but under‐researched area. In the first study of its kind, we examined the utility of expressions of remorse as a marker of a true compared with a false oral versus written confession.

Methods

We elicited both written and oral false confessional statements and true accounts from 85 participants.

Results

Results showed that the proportion of remorseful words that participants produced was significantly higher in their true compared with their false confessions, in both oral and written confession modalities. Furthermore, an acoustic analysis of oral confessions revealed that participants' remorseful utterances were significantly louder in their true compared with their false confessions.

Conclusions

These findings suggest that the presence and nature of remorseful utterances in oral and written statements are useful in the identification of true versus false confessions.