Seasonal variation of infestation by ectoparasitic chigger mite larvae (Acarina: Trombiculidae) on resident and migratory birds in coffee agroecosystems of Chiapas, Mexico.

PubMed

Dietsch, Thomas V

2005-12-01

Parasitism is not well documented for birds found in tropical habitats. Long-distance migratory birds may face additional risks to an already hazardous journey when infected. This study explores the ecology of an ectoparasite infestation in Chiapas, Mexico. During a mist-netting project in 2 different coffee management systems, chigger mites (Acarina: Trombiculidae), ectoparasitic during the larval stage, were found on both resident and migratory birds. Using a rapid assessment protocol, it was observed that 17 of 26 species of long-distance migrants and 33 of 71 resident species had at least 1 infested individual. Infestation prevalences were unexpectedly high on some long-distance migrants, as high as 0.73 for Swainson's thrush (Catharus ustulatus), a value on par with heavily infested resident species. Prevalence was highest during winter sampling: 0.18 overall, 0.16 of migrants, and 0.23 of residents. Prevalence was 0.14 for resident birds during the summer breeding season. Mean abundance and mean intensity of infestation are reported for 97 species captured and inspected during the course of this study. In this region, chigger mite larvae are relatively common on birds and their abundance varies seasonally. High prevalence for some migratory birds suggests that more research and monitoring of ectoparasites are needed, especially in light of emerging diseases.

Clinical audit of leg ulceration prevalence in a community area: a case study of good practice.

PubMed

Hindley, Jenny

2014-09-01

This article presents the findings of an audit on venous leg ulceration prevalence in a community area as a framework for discussing the concept and importance of audit as a tool to inform practice and as a means to benchmark care against national or international standards. It is hoped that the discussed audit will practically demonstrate how such procedures can be implemented in practice for those who have not yet undertaken it, as well as highlighting the unexpected extra benefits of this type of qualitative data collection that can often unexpectedly inform practice and influence change. Audit can be used to measure, monitor and disseminate evidence-based practice across community localities, facilitating the identification of learning needs and the instigation of clinical change, thereby prioritising patient needs by ensuring safety through the benchmarking of clinical practice.

The dubious assessment of gay, lesbian, and bisexual adolescents of add health.

PubMed

Savin-Williams, Ritch C; Joyner, Kara

2014-04-01

In this essay, we argue that researchers who base their investigations of nonheterosexuality derived from reports of romantic attractions of adolescent participants from Wave 1 of Add Health must account for their disappearance in future waves of data collection. The high prevalence of Wave 1 youth with either both-sex or same-sex romantic attractions was initially striking and unexpected. Subsequent data from Add Health indicated that this prevalence sharply declined over time such that over 70 % of these Wave 1 adolescents identified as exclusively heterosexual as Wave 4 young adults. Three explanations are proposed to account for the high prevalence rate and the temporal inconsistency: (1) gay adolescents going into the closet during their young adult years; (2) confusion regarding the use and meaning of romantic attraction as a proxy for sexual orientation; and (3) the existence of mischievous adolescents who played a "jokester" role by reporting same-sex attraction when none was present. Relying on Add Health data, we dismissed the first explanation as highly unlikely and found support for the other two. Importantly, these "dubious" gay, lesbian, and bisexual adolescents may have led researchers to erroneously conclude from the data that sexual-minority youth are more problematic than heterosexual youth in terms of physical, mental, and social health.

New product trial, use of edibles, and unexpected highs among marijuana and hashish users in Colorado.

PubMed

Allen, Jane A; Davis, Kevin C; Duke, Jennifer C; Nonnemaker, James M; Bradfield, Brian R; Farrelly, Matthew C

2017-07-01

This study examines the relationships between trial of new marijuana or hashish products and unexpected highs, and use of edible products and unexpected highs. We conducted an online survey of 634 adult, past-year marijuana users in Colorado. We used logistic regression models to examine the relationship between new product trial or edible use and unexpected highs. In the first year that recreational marijuana was legal in Colorado, 71.4% of respondents tried a new marijuana or hashish product, and 53.6% used an edible product. Trial of new products was associated with greater odds of experiencing an unexpected high after controlling for age, gender, education, mental health status, current marijuana or hashish use, and mean amount of marijuana or hashish consumed in the past month (OR=2.13, p<0.001). Individuals who reported having used edibles had greater odds of experiencing an unexpected high, after controlling for the same set of variables (OR=1.56, p<0.05). People who try new marijuana or hashish products, or use edible marijuana or hashish products, are at greater risk for an unexpected high. It is possible that some negative outcomes associated with marijuana use and unexpected highs may be averted through a better understanding of how to use product packaging to communicate with consumers. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

[New insights into the neuroscience of human altruism].

PubMed

Hurlemann, R; Marsh, N

2016-11-01

Numerous honorary initiatives for humanitarian aid towards refugees illustrate the high prevalence of altruistic behavior in the population. In medicine, an exquisite example of a human propensity for altruism is organ donation. Current perspectives on the neurobiology of altruism suggest that it is deeply rooted in the motivational architecture of the social brain. This is reflected by the social evolution of cooperation and parochialism, both of which are modulated by the evolutionarily conserved peptide hormone oxytocin. From a psychiatric perspective, altruism varies along a dimensional spectrum, with pathological hyperaltruism resulting in unexpected harm for oneself and others.

Parasites of the digestive tract in beef cattle imported from France to Italy.

PubMed

Stancampiano, L; Corradini, D; Bulgarelli, M; Micagni, G; Battelli, G

2007-06-01

Beef cattle heads (195 heads, 6 batches) imported for fattening from France to Italy were examined. Coprological qualitative and quantitative tests were performed, and the results analysed in relation to sex, breed, age, date of arrival, geographical origin (French department in which the animal was bred), and gathering centre (French department in which the animal was grouped with the others before travelling to Italy). The following parasites were identified: Eimeriidae (overall prevalence 60.5%); Strongyles (59%); Nematodirus spp. (14.3%); Trichuris spp. (4.1%); Capillaria spp. (2.0%); Paramphistomum spp. (27.6%); Dicrocoelium spp. (3.0%); Moniezia spp. (8.7%). All the observed parasites are widely reported in beef cattle either in Italy or in France. However, the seeming absence of Fasciola hepatica was unexpected, as well as the high prevalence of Paramphistomum spp. The variables that appeared to be more linked to parasite epidemiology were sex, altitude of the geographical origin and season.

Complicated grief in those bereaved by violent death: the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder on complicated grief

PubMed Central

Nakajima, Satomi; Masaya, Ito; Akemi, Shirai; Takako, Konishi

2012-01-01

Violent death, such as homicide, accident, and suicide, is sudden, unexpected, and caused by intentional power, The prevalence of complicated grief among those bereaved by violent death is 12,5% to 78,0%. The factors affecting this prevalence rate are considered to be comorbid mental disorders, lack of readiness for the death, difficulty in making sense of the death, high level of negative appraisal about the self and others, and various social stressors. Post-traumatic stress disorder is, in particular, considered to contribute to the development of complicated grief by suppressing function of the medial prefrontal cortex and the anterior cingulate cortex, which works at facilitating the normal mourning process. An understanding of the mechanism and biological basis of complicated grief by violent death will be helpful in developing effective preventive intervention and treatment. PMID:22754294

Self-Harm and Suicidal Behaviors in Hong Kong Adolescents: Prevalence and Psychosocial Correlates

PubMed Central

Shek, Daniel T. L.; Yu, Lu

2012-01-01

The present paper examined the prevalence and psychosocial correlates of adolescent deliberate self-harm (DSH) and suicidal behavior in a representative sample of 3,328 secondary school students in Hong Kong. With reference to the previous year, 32.7% of the students reported at least one form of DSH, 13.7% of the respondents had suicide thoughts, 4.9% devised specific suicidal plans, and 4.7% had actually attempted suicide. Adolescent girls had significantly higher rates of DSH and suicidal behavior than did adolescent boys. Having remarried parents was related to an increased likelihood of DSH and suicide. While high levels of family functioning, overall positive youth development, and academic and school performance predicted low rates of DSH and suicidal behavior, cognitive and behavioral competencies were unexpectedly found to be positively associated with DSH and suicidal behavior. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed. PMID:22566783

The prevalence and incidence of COPD among urban older persons of Bangkok Metropolis.

PubMed

Maranetra, Khun Nanta; Chuaychoo, Benjamas; Dejsomritrutai, Wanchai; Chierakul, Nitipatana; Nana, Arth; Lertakyamanee, Jariya; Naruman, Chana; Suthamsmai, Tasneeya; Sangkaew, Sutee; Sreelum, Wichean; Aksornin, Montchai; Dechapol, Jaroon; Sathet, Wichean

2002-11-01

COPD substantially affects the national healthcare resource and healthcare cost especially among the older persons. Identifying the accurate prevalence and incidence reflects the scale of problem posed by COPD. This epidemiological study using the criteria for diagnosing COPD based on ratio of FEV1.0/FVC less than 70 per cent and the reversibility of less than 15 per cent increase of post bronchodilator FEV1.0 in the absence of parenchymal lesions and cardiomegaly in CXR (PA and lateral view) revealed the prevalence (1998) of COPD among the 3094 older persons aged 60 years and over in the communities of Bangkok Metropolis 10 km around Siriraj Hospital was 7.11 per cent (95% CI: 6.21-8.01), whereas the incidence (1999) of COPD was 3.63 per cent (95% CI: 2.83-4.43). Both the prevalence and the incidence were increased with increasing age. The disease occurred predominantly among male smokers. The distribution of mild : moderate : severe COPD in the prevalence study was 5.6:2.2:1. The current findings also suggest that tobacco smoking is the prime important cause of COPD and the indoor pollution especially cooking smoke is not significant. In particular, the unexpectedly high incidence compared with prevalence in this population probably represents the warning message to the national policy maker for prompt and effective health promotion and disease prevention to prevent further social and economic loss.

Incidence of sudden unexpected death in nocturnal frontal lobe epilepsy: a cohort study

PubMed Central

Mostacci, Barbara; Bisulli, Francesca; Vignatelli, Luca; Licchetta, Laura; Di Vito, Lidia; Rinaldi, Claudia; Trippi, Irene; Ferri, Lorenzo; Plazzi, Giuseppe; Provini, Federica; Tinuper, Paolo

2015-01-01

Objective Most cases of sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) follow a seizure, and most deaths occur while people are in bed, presumably sleeping. Nocturnal seizures are reported to be a risk factor for SUDEP. People with nocturnal frontal lobe epilepsy (NFLE) have seizures predominantly or exclusively during sleep, often many times per night. The present study aimed to assess whether NFLE represents a high-risk condition for SUDEP. Methods The present study retrospectively assessed the incidence of SUDEP in a cohort reconstructed from a dedicated database of consecutive patients referred to the Epilepsy and Sleep Centres of the Institute of Neurological Sciences of Bologna from 1980 to 2012 with: (1) a diagnosis of NFLE, (2) at least 90% of seizures during sleep, and (3) at least one-year of follow-up. Results One hundred and three people were included. The median time from seizure onset to last observation was 26 years, equal to a follow-up of 2789 person-years. One person died of SUDEP during the follow-up period. The incidence rate of SUDEP was 0.36 per 1000 person-years (95% CI 0.01 to 2.0). Conclusions The incidence of SUDEP in the participant population was not higher than the rates previously reported in prevalent epilepsy populations (0.4 to 2.3 per 1000 person-years). The low prevalence of SUDEP might reflect the low occurrence of generalised tonic-clonic seizures in people with NFLE. PMID:25600783

[Medical-and-social aspects of prevalence of alcoholism among women in the city of Astrakhan].

PubMed

Kur'ianova, N N

2004-01-01

The scale of labor losses from unexpected or premature death of women in Astrakhan due to alcohol abuse is extensive; it made 10,935 man-years in 1996-1999. The average annual labor losses made 2733.75 man-years.

Two missense mutations, E123Q and K151E, identified in the ERG11 allele of an azole-resistant isolate of Candida kefyr recovered from a stem cell transplant patient for acute myeloid leukemia

PubMed Central

Couzigou, Célia; Gabriel, Frédéric; Biteau, Nicolas; Fitton-Ouhabi, Valérie; Noël, Thierry; Accoceberry, Isabelle

2014-01-01

We report on the first cloning and nucleotide sequencing of an ERG11 allele from a clinical isolate of Candida kefyr cross-resistant to azole antifungals. It was recovered from a stem cell transplant patient, in an oncohematology unit exhibiting unexpected high prevalence of C. kefyr. Two amino acid substitutions were identified: K151E, whose role in fluconazole resistance was already demonstrated in Candida albicans, and E123Q, a new substitution never described so far in azole-resistant Candida yeast. PMID:24936404

Two missense mutations, E123Q and K151E, identified in the ERG11 allele of an azole-resistant isolate of Candida kefyr recovered from a stem cell transplant patient for acute myeloid leukemia.

PubMed

Couzigou, Célia; Gabriel, Frédéric; Biteau, Nicolas; Fitton-Ouhabi, Valérie; Noël, Thierry; Accoceberry, Isabelle

2014-07-01

We report on the first cloning and nucleotide sequencing of an ERG11 allele from a clinical isolate of Candida kefyr cross-resistant to azole antifungals. It was recovered from a stem cell transplant patient, in an oncohematology unit exhibiting unexpected high prevalence of C. kefyr. Two amino acid substitutions were identified: K151E, whose role in fluconazole resistance was already demonstrated in Candida albicans, and E123Q, a new substitution never described so far in azole-resistant Candida yeast.

Congenital Malformations of the Central Nervous System in Rural Western Honduras: A 6-Year Report on Trends.

PubMed

Estevez-Ordonez, Dagoberto; Dewan, Michael C; Feldman, Michael J; Montalvan-Sanchez, Eleazar E; Montalvan-Sanchez, Daniela M; Rodriguez-Murillo, Aida A; Urrutia-Argueta, Samuel A; Cherry, Charlotte B; Morgan, Douglas R; Alvarez-Rodriguez, Roberto; Bonfield, Christopher M

2017-11-01

Central nervous system (CNS) malformations, including neural tube defects (NTDs), are the second most common type of birth defects worldwide and are major causes of childhood disability and mortality. We report the first analysis of birth prevalence in Western Honduras of CNS malformations including NTDs over 6 consecutive years. Data from all patients with congenital CNS malformations and total live births for the period 2010-2015 were obtained through institution and regional registries from all 3 public referral hospitals in Western Honduras, representing 67 municipalities. Cases were identified using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision CNS malformation codes. Birth prevalence was calculated as cases per 10,000 live births. From 123,903 live births, 275 cases of CNS malformations were identified (54% females, 58% NTDs). Six-year birth prevalence of CNS malformations was 13.9-31.1. Spina bifida variants and anencephaly represented 80% and 19% of reported NTDs, respectively. Total 6-year prevalence of NTDs in Western Honduras was 7.0-17.4 over years studied. In 6 municipalities, average prevalence was >30 (maximum 49.0). This is the first study reporting disease burden of CNS malformations in Western Honduras. The nationwide birth prevalence of NTDs in rural Honduras may have decreased since the implementation of prenatal health policies in 2005. However, we identified regions with unexpectedly elevated prevalence, indicating high regional prevalence that could be targeted for improved preventive efforts, ultimately decreasing the burden of these conditions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Understanding Traumatic Stress in Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bassuk, Ellen L.; Konnath, Kristina; Volk, Katherine T.

2006-01-01

The unexpected loss of a loved one, a car accident, or exposure to a violent experience is familiar to many. Everyone reacts to such events, but the responses vary widely, ranging from numbness and withdrawal, to crying, nervousness, and agitation. Because traumatic events are prevalent, cause profound suffering, and may lead to life altering…

Sudden unexpected death related to enterovirus myocarditis: histopathology, immunohistochemistry and molecular pathology diagnosis at post-mortem

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Viral myocarditis is a major cause of sudden unexpected death in children and young adults. Until recently, coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3) has been the most commonly implicated virus in myocarditis. At present, no standard diagnosis is generally accepted due to the insensitivity of traditional diagnostic tests. This has prompted health professionals to seek new diagnostic approaches, which resulted in the emergence of new molecular pathological tests and a more detailed immunohistochemical and histopathological analysis. When supplemented with immunohistochemistry and molecular pathology, conventional histopathology may provide important clues regarding myocarditis underlying etiology. Methods This study is based on post-mortem samples from sudden unexpected death victims and controls who were investigated prospectively. Immunohistochemical investigations for the detection of the enteroviral capsid protein VP1 and the characterization and quantification of myocardial inflammatory reactions as well as molecular pathological methods for enteroviral genome detection were performed. Results Overall, 48 sudden unexpected death victims were enrolled. As for controls, 37 cases of unnatural traffic accident victims were studied. Enterovirus was detected in 6 sudden unexpected death cases (12.5 %). The control samples were completely enterovirus negative. Furthermore, the enteroviral capsid protein VP1 in the myocardium was detected in enterovirus-positive cases revealed by means of reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Unlike control samples, immunohistochemical investigations showed a significant presence of T and B lymphocytes in sudden unexpected death victims. Conclusions Our findings demonstrate clearly a higher prevalence of viral myocarditis in cases of sudden unexpected death compared to control subjects, suggesting that coxsackie B enterovirus may contribute to myocarditis pathogenesis significantly. PMID:22966951

Sleep Disordered Breathing, Fatigue, and Sleepiness in HIV-Infected and -Uninfected Men

PubMed Central

Patil, Susheel P.; Brown, Todd T.; Jacobson, Lisa P.; Margolick, Joseph B.; Laffan, Alison; Johnson-Hill, Lisette; Godfrey, Rebecca; Johnson, Jacquett; Reynolds, Sandra; Schwartz, Alan R.; Smith, Philip L.

2014-01-01

Study Objectives We investigated the association of HIV infection and highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) with sleep disordered breathing (SDB), fatigue, and sleepiness. Methods HIV-uninfected men (HIV−; n = 60), HIV-infected men using HAART (HIV+/HAART+; n = 58), and HIV-infected men not using HAART (HIV+/HAART−; n = 41) recruited from two sites of the Multicenter AIDS cohort study (MACS) underwent a nocturnal sleep study, anthropometric assessment, and questionnaires for fatigue and the Epworth Sleepiness Scale. The prevalence of SDB in HIV- men was compared to that in men matched from the Sleep Heart Health Study (SHHS). Results The prevalence of SDB was unexpectedly high in all groups: 86.7% for HIV−, 70.7% for HIV+/HAART+, and 73.2% for HIV+/HAART−, despite lower body-mass indices (BMI) in HIV+ groups. The higher prevalence in the HIV− men was significant in univariate analyses but not after adjustment for BMI and other variables. SDB was significantly more common in HIV− men in this study than those in SHHS, and was common in participants with BMIs <25 kg/m2. HIV+ men reported fatigue more frequently than HIV− men (25.5% vs. 6.7%; p = 0.003), but self-reported sleepiness did not differ among the three groups. Sleepiness, but not fatigue, was significantly associated with SDB. Conclusions SDB was highly prevalent in HIV− and HIV+ men, despite a normal or slightly elevated BMI. The high rate of SDB in men who have sex with men deserves further investigation. Sleepiness, but not fatigue, was related to the presence of SDB. Clinicians caring for HIV-infected patients should distinguish between fatigue and sleepiness when considering those at risk for SDB, especially in non-obese men. PMID:24991815

Effect of pronase on high-incidence blood group antigens and the prevalence of antibodies to pronase-treated erythrocytes.

PubMed

Reid, M E; Greeen, C A; Hoffer, J; Øyen, R

1996-01-01

Pronase is a useful and relatively nonspecific protease that cleaves many red blood cell (RBC) membrane proteins that carry blood group antigens. Unexpected findings in tests using pronase-treated RBCs during the investigation of a patient's blood sample led us to test which high-incidence blood group antigens were sensitive and which were resistant to pronase treatment, and to determine the prevalence of antipronase in the serum of blood donors. Our results show that antigens in the Cromer and Lutheran blood group systems and the JMH antigen were sensitive to pronase treatment of RBCs. Antigens in the Dombrock blood group system and Sc1 were either sensitive to or markedly weakened by pronase treatment of RBCs. The following high-incidence antigens were resistant to treatment of RBCs with pronase: AnWj, Ata, Coa, Co3, Dib, EnaFR, Era, Fy3, Jk3, Jra, k, Kpb, Jsb, K14, Lan, Oka, Rh17, U, Vel, and Wrb. Over half of the serum samples from normal blood donors contained antibodies to pronase-treated RBCs. When testing human serum against pronase-treated RBCs, it is essential either to use an autocontrol or to perform the testing with an eluate.

Characteristics of, prevalence of, and risk factors for corneal pigmentation (pigmentary keratopathy) in Pugs.

PubMed

Labelle, Amber L; Dresser, Christine B; Hamor, Ralph E; Allender, Matthew C; Disney, Julia L

2013-09-01

To determine the characteristics of, prevalence of, and risk factors for corneal pigmentation (CP) in Pugs. Prospective cross-sectional study. 295 Pugs > 16 weeks old. Ophthalmic examination of the anterior segment of each eye was performed, including determination of tear film characteristics (Schirmer tear test and tear film breakup time) and corneal sensitivity. Digital photographs of the head and each eye were obtained. Corneal pigmentation of eyes was graded as absent, very mild, mild, moderate, or severe. Signalment and medical history information and American Kennel Club registration status were recorded. Results-CP was detected in at least 1 eye of 243 of the 295 (82.4%) Pugs; CP was typically very mild or mild. Detection of CP was not significantly associated with coat color, age, eyelid conformation, or tear film characteristics but was significantly associated with sex of dogs. The severity of CP was not significantly associated with American Kennel Club registration status or age, but was significantly associated with sex, tear film characteristics, and coat color. Iris hypoplasia was detected in 72.1% of the Pugs. Iris-to-iris persistent pupillary membranes were detected in 85.3% of the Pugs. Prevalence of CP in Pugs in this study was high. Unexpectedly high prevalences of iris hypoplasia and persistent pupillary membranes were also identified. The condition identified in these Pugs was a pigmentary keratopathy, rather than pigmentary keratitis or corneal melanosis. This condition may have a genetic basis, and further studies are warranted to determine etiology.

FREQUENCY OF TRAUMA EXPOSURE AND POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDERS IN ITALY: ANALYSIS FROM THE WORLD MENTAL HEALTH SURVEY INITIATIVE

PubMed Central

Carmassi, Claudia; Dell’Osso, Liliana; Manni, Corrado; Candini, Valentina; Dagani, Jessica; Iozzino, Laura; Koenen, Karestan C.; de Girolamo, Giovanni

2015-01-01

Epidemiological studies have examined the relative importance of Traumatic Events (TEs) in accounting for the societal burden of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, most studies used the worst trauma experienced, which can lead to an overestimation of the conditional risk of PTSD. Although a number of epidemiological surveys on PTSD have been carried out in the United States, only a few studies in limited sample have been conducted in Italy. This study, carried out in the framework of the World Mental Health Survey Initiative, is a cross-sectional household survey of a representative sample of the Italian adult population. Lifetime prevalence of traumatic events (TEs) and 12-month prevalence of PTSD were evaluated using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI). Reports of PTSD associated with randomly selected TEs were weighted by the individual-level probabilities of TE selection to generate estimates of population-level PTSD risk associated with each TE. Network events was the most commonly reported TE (29.4%). War events had the highest conditional risk of PTSD (12.2%). The TEs that contributed most to societal PTSD burden were unexpected death of a loved one (24.1%) and having seen atrocities (18.2%). Being female was related to high risk of PTSD after experiencing a TE. Exposure to network events is commonly reported among Italian adults, but two TE are responsible for the highest burden associated with PTSD: the unexpected death of someone close and sexual assault. These results can help designing public health interventions to reduce the societal PTSD burden. PMID:25266475

Changes in Youth Smoking, 1976-2002: A Time-Series Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pampel, Fred C.; Aguilar, Jade

2008-01-01

During the past several decades, smoking prevalence among youth has fluctuated in puzzling and unexpected ways. To help understand these changes, this study tests seven explanations: (a) compositional changes, (b) sample selection, (c) adult smoking, (d) social strain, (e) cigarette prices, (f) tobacco advertising, and (g) other drug use. Figures…

Psychiatric Genocide: Nazi Attempts to Eradicate Schizophrenia

PubMed Central

Torrey, E. Fuller; Yolken, Robert H.

2010-01-01

Although the Nazi genocide of Jews during World War II is well known, the concurrent Nazi genocide of psychiatric patients is much less widely known. An attempt was made to estimate the number of individuals with schizophrenia who were sterilized and murdered by the Nazis and to assess the effect on the subsequent prevalence and incidence of this disease. It is estimated that between 220 000 and 269 500 individuals with schizophrenia were sterilized or killed. This total represents between 73% and 100% of all individuals with schizophrenia living in Germany between 1939 and 1945. Postwar studies of the prevalence of schizophrenia in Germany reported low rates, as expected. However, postwar rates of the incidence of schizophrenia in Germany were unexpectedly high. The Nazi genocide of psychiatric patients was the greatest criminal act in the history of psychiatry. It was also based on what are now known to be erroneous genetic theories and had no apparent long-term effect on the subsequent incidence of schizophrenia. PMID:19759092

Handbook for Evaluating Ecological Effects of Pollution at DARCOM Installations. Volume 6. Unexpected Declines in Animal Populations,

DTIC Science & Technology

1979-12-01

Ecological Research Laboratory U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Sabine Island Gulf Breeze, FL 32561 Phone: 904 932-5311 This laboratory will assist in...diseases of domestic animals and wildlife in the area? c. Do domestic animal owners vaccinate for any disease? d. What is the prevalent habitat? e

Signet-ring cell carcinoma in gastric biopsies: expecting the unexpected.

PubMed

Golembeski, Christopher P; Genta, Robert Maximilian

2013-02-01

This study was designed to establish the relative prevalence of intestinal-type and signet-ring carcinoma in gastric biopsy specimens from ambulatory patients, to determine the percentage of signet-ring carcinomas that could be expected based on the available clinical and endoscopic information, and to estimate the likelihood of missing a tumour. We extracted data of all patients with a diagnosis of primary gastric carcinoma from a national pathology database. We then reviewed clinical information and original slides, classified tumours as intestinal or signet-ring-type, and categorised the latter as 'unexpected' (no alarming symptoms, no mention of suspicious lesions) or 'expected' (clinical or endoscopic information suggestive of tumour). Unexpected signet-ring carcinomas were categorised as 'obvious' or 'challenging' (rare signet-ring cells; immunohistochemical stains used to confirm the nature of the infiltrates). There were 310 109 patients with gastric biopsies; 615 patients had primary gastric carcinoma (359 intestinal and 256 signet-ring-type). Gastric cancer was more common in men (OR 2.54; 95% CI 2.05 to 3.14; p<.0001) for intestinal-type and (OR 1.90; 95% CI 1.48 to 2.42; p<0.0001) for signet-ring cell type). Intestinal-type carcinoma occurred in older patients than signet-ring-type (median age 74 vs 65 years, p<0.001). There were 196 expected and 60 unexpected signet-ring carcinomas; 47 of the 60 unexpected cases were histopathologically obvious. Thus, only 13 signet-ring carcinomas (1 in 25 000 gastric biopsy sets) were truly unexpected. Signet-ring carcinoma is a rare finding in gastric biopsy specimens from ambulatory patients; routine due diligence and the clinical/endoscopic information provided are usually adequate to raise pathologists' index of suspicion.

"Obesity-Associated" Breast Cancer in Lean Women: Metabolism and Inflammation as Critical Modifiers of Risk.

PubMed

Denis, Gerald V; Palmer, Julie R

2017-05-01

Why is obesity only weakly associated with certain "obesity-driven" cancers? Recent population studies identify cohorts of high body mass index (BMI) subjects with unexpectedly reduced risk for breast and colon cancer, and normal BMI subjects with unexpectedly elevated risk for breast cancer, provoking hard thinking about cellular and molecular mechanisms that most strongly couple obesity to cancer occurrence or progression. Emerging work suggests that abnormal metabolism and its associated chronic inflammation make the difference. Type II diabetes, for example, is a chronic inflammatory disease with specific imbalances in T-cell and myeloid-origin cytokines. Inflammation is elevated systemically, measured through blood biomarkers, and locally in adipose tissue. Here, cytokines and chemokines likely modify tumor microenvironments in dangerous ways. High BMI subjects with low inflammation and less disturbed metabolism appear to have reduced risk for certain obesity-associated cancers, whereas lean or slightly overweight subjects with high inflammation and metabolic abnormalities have elevated risk. This latter phenotype is prevalent among South Asian adults and suggests we are not monitoring certain normal weight adults sufficiently for risks of "obesity-associated" cancers. Profiling of patient metabolism and inflammation should accompany measures of body composition when considering cancer risk; the evidence base for these refinements must be extended through new, prospective observational studies. Cancer Prev Res; 10(5); 267-9. ©2017 AACR See related article by Iyengar et al., Cancer Prev Res 2017;10(4):235-43 . ©2017 American Association for Cancer Research.

The Effect of Age on the Prevalence of Obesity among US Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

PubMed

Must, Aviva; Eliasziw, Misha; Phillips, Sarah M; Curtin, Carol; Kral, Tanja V E; Segal, Mary; Sherwood, Nancy E; Sikich, Linmarie; Stanish, Heidi I; Bandini, Linda G

2017-02-01

We sought to assess the association between age and the prevalence of obesity among children with and without autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in the 2011-2012 National Survey of Children's Health. Analyses were restricted to 43,777 children, ages 10-17, with valid measures of parent-reported weight, height, and ASD status. Exploratory analyses describe the impact of sex, race/ethnicity, and household income on the relationship between age and obesity in ASD. Although the overall prevalence of obesity among children with ASD was significantly (p < 0.001) higher than among children without ASD (23.1% vs. 14.1%, 95% confidence interval for difference 3.6 to 14.4), child age significantly (p = 0.035) modified this difference. In a multivariable logistic regression analysis, adjusted for sex, race/ethnicity, and household income, the odds of obesity among children with ASD compared with children without ASD increased monotonically from ages 10 to 17 years. This pattern arose due to a consistently high prevalence of obesity among children with ASD and a decline in prevalence with advancing age among children without ASD. These findings were replicated using a propensity score analysis. Exploratory analyses suggested that the age-related change in obesity disparity between children with and without ASD may be further modified by sex, race/ethnicity, and household income. The patterns of prevalence observed with increasing age among children with and without ASD were unexpected. A better understanding of the etiological and maintenance factors for obesity in youth with ASD is needed to develop interventions tailored to the specific needs of these children.

Sero-epidemiological assessment of Chlamydia trachomatis infection and sub-fertility in Samoan women.

PubMed

Menon, S; Stansfield, S H; Walsh, M; Hope, E; Isaia, L; Righarts, A A; Niupulusu, T; Temese, S V A; Iosefa-Siitia, L; Auvaa, L; Tapelu, S A; Motu, M F; Suaalii-Sauni, T; Timms, P; Hill, P C; Huston, W M

2016-04-21

In our recent village-based cross-sectional study, the prevalence of nucleic acid amplification technique (NAAT) diagnosed Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) in sexually active Samoan women was very high (36 %), and test positivity was associated with sub-fertility. We conducted a serological and epidemiological analysis in these participants to identify if serological data can provide further insight into the potential contribution of CT to sub-fertility in this population. Serological prediction of CT associated sub-fertility was conducted using a series of commercial tests. The correlation between fertility or sub-fertility, behavioral factors, and serologically predicted CT associated sub-fertility was determined. A positive antibody reaction against the Chlamydia Major Outer Membrane Protein (MOMP) was significantly associated with sub-fertility, with 50 % of infertile women being positive. Serum IgG and IgA antibodies against MOMP correlated with current infection measured by urine NAAT, suggesting longer term infections are common in this population. Chlamydia pneumoniae antibodies were frequently detected in this population (84 %), and unexpectedly, were significantly associated with sub-fertility. The high prevalence of chlamydial infection and of positive chlamydial sub-fertility results suggests that CT is an important and frequent contributory factor to sub-fertility in this population.

Emotional Distress, Bullying Victimization, and Protective Factors Among Transgender and Gender Diverse Adolescents in City, Suburban, Town, and Rural Locations.

PubMed

Eisenberg, Marla E; Gower, Amy L; McMorris, Barbara J; Rider, G Nicole; Coleman, Eli

2018-06-25

Understanding the root causes of the substantial disparities in risk and protective factors among transgender and gender diverse (TGD) adolescents is essential to the development and expansion of resources and supports for this vulnerable population. This study examines differences in emotional distress, bullying victimization, and protective factors among TGD high school students in city, suburban, town, and rural locations. Data come from a statewide school-based survey conducted in Minnesota in 2016 (n = 2,168 TGD youth). Analysis of covariance models were used to predict the prevalence of multiple indicators of emotional distress, bullying victimization, and protective factors across the 4 location categories, with multiple adjustments. Significant linear trends were observed for 2 emotional distress outcomes and 2 bullying victimization outcomes, with urban TGD students having the lowest rates and rural having the highest prevalences. Additional significant differences in emotional distress were noted, with unexpectedly high rates of depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation among suburban students. Helping TGD adolescents in all types of locations identify resources and supportive professionals is critical to supporting this population. © 2018 National Rural Health Association.

[Survey on knowledge, attitude, practice related to contraception among college students in Beijing].

PubMed

Zhou, Yuan-Zhong; Zhang, Mei-Mei; Wei, Sheng; Guan, Huang-Tao; Yin, Ping; Ren, Ning; Pang, Xue-Bing; Xiong, Cheng-Liang

2009-07-01

To understand the current status and relative factors on knowledge, attitude, practice to contraception among college students in Beijing and to provide evidence for developing aimed contraceptive service and education in colleges. Quantitative surveys were employed, questionnaire was conducted anonymously among 12,450 unmarried college students under informed consent. Among 12,129 students, acknowledgement of contraceptive knowledge among females was superior to males in college (P=0.000). Rates on the favor for unmarried sexual practice and 'sexual liberation' were 81.9% and 60.2% for males, comparing to 74.8% and 54.3% for females respectively. The prevalence rates for masturbation were 74.3% for males and 24.9% for females respectively. 18.4% of the male and 10.5% of the female students had ever experienced unmarried sexual intercourse. Among those students who had sexual experiences, 29.4% of the males had made their sex partners pregnant and 23.1% of the female students had experienced unexpected pregnancy. Statistical significance was found between males and females (P=0.000) in terms of attitudes and behaviors. 51.3% of the male and female students took contraceptive measures during the episode of first sexual intercourse. The excuses for not taking any measures would include: sexual intercourse happened incidentally, not interested in using condom, only one sexual experience would not cause pregnancy, etc. The prevalence of unmarried sexual intercourse among college students had been rising. Among those who had experienced unmarried sexual intercourse, the rate of taking contraceptive measures was low and the incidence of unexpected pregnancy was high. It is urgent to strengthen the education and service programs on contraception among college students.

High prevalence of self-reported symptoms of digital ischemia in elite male volleyball players in the Netherlands: a cross-sectional national survey.

PubMed

van de Pol, Daan; Kuijer, P Paul F M; Langenhorst, Ton; Maas, Mario

2012-10-01

In the past 3 years, 6 volleyball players with ischemic digits and small microemboli in the digital arteries of the dominant hand presented themselves in our hospital. These complaints were caused by an aneurysmatic dilation of the posterior circumflex humeral artery (PCHA) with distal occlusion and digital emboli in the isolateral limb. All were elite male volleyball players active in the national top league. Little is known about the exact symptoms associated with PCHA pathological lesions with digital emboli (PCHAP with DE) and its prevalence in elite volleyball players. If vascular injury can be identified at an early stage, thromboembolic complications and irreversible damage to the digits might be prevented. To assess the prevalence of symptoms that are consistent with digital ischemia and may be caused by PCHAP with DE in elite male volleyball players in the Netherlands. Cross-sectional study; Level of evidence, 3. A questionnaire survey was performed among elite volleyball players in the Dutch national top league and the Dutch beach volleyball team. The questionnaire was constructed using literature-based data on symptoms associated with PCHAP with DE, together with data retrieved from medical files. A total of 99 of the 107 athletes participated, with a response rate of 93%. The most frequently reported symptoms associated with PCHAP with DE were cold, blue, or pale digits in the dominant hand during or immediately after practice or competition. The prevalence of these symptoms ranged from 11% to 27%. The prevalence of cold digits during practice and competition was 27%. The prevalence of cold, blue, and pale digits during or immediately after practice and competition was 12%. An unexpectedly high percentage of elite volleyball players reported symptoms that are associated with PCHAP with DE in the dominant hand. Because these athletes are considered potentially at risk for developing critical digital ischemia, further analysis of the presence of digital ischemia and PCHA injury is warranted.

The prevalence and correlates of consanguineous marriages in Yemen: similarities and contrasts with other Arab countries.

PubMed

Jurdi, Rozzet; Saxena, Prem C

2003-01-01

Using data on 9762 women from the 1997 Yemen Demographic and Maternal and Child Health Survey, this paper examines the prevalence and socioeconomic correlates of consanguineous marriages in Yemen. The results indicate that 40% of marriages are consanguineous, over 85% of which are between first cousins. The prevalence of consanguineous marriages appears to have increased over time, particularly for the last marriage cohort. As for socioeconomic correlates, the study confirms the inverse association between consanguineous marriages and women's education and occupation, age at marriage and economic status. However, no statistically significant difference in the prevalence of consanguinity has been found by place of residence and geographical region. Somewhat unexpected results have been obtained by husband's background characteristics, with higher educated men and those working in the modern sector of the economy being more likely to be married to cousins.

Prediction of shipboard electromagnetic interference (EMI) problems using artificial intelligence (AI) technology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Swanson, David J.

1990-01-01

The electromagnetic interference prediction problem is characteristically ill-defined and complicated. Severe EMI problems are prevalent throughout the U.S. Navy, causing both expected and unexpected impacts on the operational performance of electronic combat systems onboard ships. This paper focuses on applying artificial intelligence (AI) technology to the prediction of ship related electromagnetic interference (EMI) problems.

Prevalence of fetal alcohol syndrome in a South African city with a predominantly Black African population.

PubMed

Urban, Michael F; Olivier, Leana; Viljoen, Denis; Lombard, Chanelle; Louw, Jacobus G; Drotsky, Lian-Marie; Temmerman, Marleen; Chersich, Matthew F

2015-06-01

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) and fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) are common in some South African populations, notably those of mixed ancestry descent in rural areas and small towns. Little is known about FAS/FASD prevalence in the majority of South Africans: city dwellers of Black African ethnicity. This study describes the prevalence of FAS in a South African city, comparing 2 suburbs with predominantly mixed ancestry (Roodepan) and Black African (Galeshewe) populations that house over 60% of the city population. We conducted a tiered, active case ascertainment study for the prevalence of FAS and also detected some less clinically specific FASD cases. All first-grade learners in the 2 suburbs were eligible for anthropometric screening, and screen-positive learners were assessed for dysmorphic features of FAS. Those with suggestive clinical features received neurocognitive assessment, and maternal or collateral interview. Final diagnosis was made following a case conference. Complete ascertainment of FAS status was made in 1,503 (94.7%) of 1,587 eligible learners (435 in Roodepan and 1,152 in Galeshewe). Overall, FAS was diagnosed in 83 (5.5%, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 4.4 to 6.8) learners and FASD in 96 (6.4%, 95% CI = 5.2 to 7.7). Levels of FAS were high in both areas: 26 (6.3%, 95% CI = 4.2 to 9.2) learners from Roodepan, compared to 57 (5.2%, 95% CI = 4.0 to 6.7) from Galeshewe (p = 0.39). No cases were previously diagnosed. The mortality rate for mothers of FASD children from Galeshewe was 19 of 65 (29%), compared to 3 of 31 (9.7%; p = 0.03) for Roodepan. Interviewed mothers in Galeshewe were older and had higher body mass index. Prevalence of FAS is high in both Galeshewe and Roodepan, and the lack of prior diagnoses indicates that awareness remains low. The maternal mortality rate was especially high in Galeshewe. The unexpectedly high burden of FAS in an urban area with predominantly Black African population mandates extension of surveillance and intervention measures in southern Africa. Copyright © 2015 by the Research Society on Alcoholism.

Prevalence of Staphylococcus, including Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus, in a Physical Therapy Education Facility.

PubMed

Dhagat, Priya V; Gibbs, Karen A; Rohde, Rodney E

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence of Staphylococcus species, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), in a physical therapy (PT) education facility. The PT laboratory classrooms were routinely used by graduate PT students and faculty, undergraduate anatomy students, and licensed practitioners for continuing education purposes. A total of 88 swab samples were collected from plinths and other equipment and plated onto mannitol salt agar (MSA). Suspected S. aureus colonies were confirmed by Staphyloslide latex testing. S. aureus isolates were plated to HardyCHROM agar to identify MRSA. VITEK antibiotic susceptibility testing confirmed MRSA isolates. Forty-seven samples showed growth (47/88, 53%), and 7 tested positive for S. aureus (7/47, 15%). Of those 7, one demonstrated oxacillin resistance and was confirmed as MRSA (1/7, 2%). Remaining samples grew other species of Staphylococcus and gram-negative bacilli. Given high classroom utilization, staphylococci environmental prevalence would be expected. However, the presence of MRSA was unexpected. Results demonstrate the potential for easily transmissible and potentially harmful organisms to be present in multi-use classrooms utilized by health professions students where frequent skin-to-skin contact occurs. Strict, routine cleaning of plinths and other equipment is imperative in reducing exposure risk.

Population prevalence of hereditary breast cancer phenotypes and implementation of a genetic cancer risk assessment program in southern Brazil

PubMed Central

2009-01-01

In 2004, a population-based cohort (the Núcleo Mama Porto Alegre - NMPOA Cohort) was started in Porto Alegre, southern Brazil and within that cohort, a hereditary breast cancer study was initiated, aiming to determine the prevalence of hereditary breast cancer phenotypes and evaluate acceptance of a genetic cancer risk assessment (GCRA) program. Women from that cohort who reported a positive family history of cancer were referred to GCRA. Of the 9218 women enrolled, 1286 (13.9%) reported a family history of cancer. Of the 902 women who attended GCRA, 55 (8%) had an estimated lifetime risk of breast cancer ≥ 20% and 214 (23.7%) had pedigrees suggestive of a breast cancer predisposition syndrome; an unexpectedly high number of these fulfilled criteria for Li-Fraumeni-like syndrome (122 families, 66.7%). The overall prevalence of a hereditary breast cancer phenotype was 6.2% (95%CI: 5.67-6.65). These findings identified a problem of significant magnitude in the region and indicate that genetic cancer risk evaluation should be undertaken in a considerable proportion of the women from this community. The large proportion of women who attended GCRA (72.3%) indicates that the program was well-accepted by the community, regardless of the potential cultural, economic and social barriers. PMID:21637504

High prevalence of osteonecrosis of the femoral head in HIV-infected adults.

PubMed

Miller, Kirk D; Masur, Henry; Jones, Elizabeth C; Joe, Galen O; Rick, Margaret E; Kelly, Grace G; Mican, JoAnn M; Liu, Shuying; Gerber, Lynn H; Blackwelder, William C; Falloon, Judith; Davey, Richard T; Polis, Michael A; Walker, Robert E; Lane, H Clifford; Kovacs, Joseph A

2002-07-02

Osteonecrosis has been reported to occur occasionally among HIV-infected patients. The diagnosis of symptomatic osteonecrosis of the hip in two of the authors' patients, together with reports from community physicians, raised a concern that the prevalence of osteonecrosis is increasing. To determine the prevalence of osteonecrosis of the hip in asymptomatic HIV-infected patients and to identify potential risk factors associated with osteonecrosis. Survey and comparison study. The Clinical Center of the U.S. National Institutes of Health. 339 asymptomatic HIV-infected adults (of 364 asked to participate) and 118 age- and sex-matched HIV-negative volunteers enrolled between 1 June and 15 December 1999. Osteonecrosis of the hip, as documented by magnetic resonance imaging. Data from clinic records and a patient questionnaire administered before magnetic resonance imaging were used in an analysis of risk factors. A subset of patients was evaluated for hypercoagulable state. Fifteen (4.4% [95% CI, 2.5% to 7.2%]) of 339 HIV-infected participants had osteonecrosis lesions on magnetic resonance imaging, and no HIV-negative participants had similar lesions. Among HIV-infected participants, osteonecrosis occurred more frequently in those who used systemic corticosteroids, lipid-lowering agents, or testosterone; those who exercised routinely by bodybuilding; and those who had detectable levels of anticardiolipin antibodies. Patients infected with HIV have an unexpectedly high occurrence of osteonecrosis of the hip. Although screening asymptomatic patients is not warranted, HIV-infected patients with persistent groin or hip pain should be evaluated for this debilitating complication.

Alarming Prevalence of Emergency Hypertension Levels in the General Public Identified by a Hypertension Awareness Campaign.

PubMed

Caligiuri, Stephanie P B; Austria, Jose Alejandro; Pierce, Grant N

2017-03-01

Hypertension is a major cause of mortality and morbidity today. The "silent" nature of hypertension makes it critical to determine its prevalence and its severity in the general public and to identify strategies to identify people unaware of its presence. A mobile hypertension awareness campaign was created to: (i) determine the prevalence and types of hypertension in an urban North American center, (ii) increase hypertension awareness, and (iii) identify reasons for lack of therapy adherence. Mobile clinics were provided at shopping malls, workplaces, hospitals, and community centres to measure blood pressure in the public. Blood pressure recordings were done on a voluntary basis. Of 1097 participants, 50% presented with high blood pressure which was higher than expected. Of particular clinical significance, an unexpectedly large number of participants (2%) exhibited a hypertensive urgency/emergency. Most of these people were not adherent to medications (if their hypertension was detected previously), were unaware of their hypertensive state, and/or unwilling to acknowledge or ignored the clinical significance of the extremely high blood pressure readings. Reasons for lack of adherence included: denial, being unaware of health consequences, and proper management of hypertension. A relatively large segment of an urban population lives unaware of severe emergency levels of hypertension. A public mobile hypertension clinic provides a valuable strategy for identifying hypertension in the general public and for knowledge translation of hypertension management. © American Journal of Hypertension, Ltd 2017. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com

Seroprevalence of spotted fever group (SFG) rickettsiae infection in domestic ruminants in Khartoum State, Sudan.

PubMed

Eisawi, Nagwa M; Hassan, Dina A; Hussien, Mohammed O; Musa, Azza B; El Hussein, Abdel Rahim M

2017-05-01

Spotted fever group (SFG) rickettsiosis is caused by obligatory intracellular Gram-negative bacteria that belong to the genus Rickettsia . Ticks belonging to the family Ixodidae can act as vectors, reservoirs or amplifiers of SFG rickettsiae. This study was conducted to estimate the seroprevalence of SFG rickettsioses in cattle, sheep and goats from Khartoum State, Sudan. Blood samples were collected from a total of 600 animals (sheep, goats and cattle) from 32 different farms distributed in three locations in Khartoum State during the period January to December 2012. Sera were tested for antibodies against SFG rickettsiae using IFAT. The prevalence of seropositivity was 59.3% in sheep, 60.1% in goats and 64.4% in cattle. Season was significantly ( P <  0.05) associated with seroprevalence of SFG rickettsiae in cattle during winter. The SFG rickettsiae antibodies prevalence was significantly higher in female compared with male in sheep, but there were no significant differences between male and female in either cattle or goats. The prevalence was significantly higher in adult animals compared with young in both sheep and goats. With regard to management system, there was a significant difference in the prevalence in cattle raised in closed system compared with those raised in semi-intensive system. In contrast, there was significant difference in the seroprevalence of SFG in sheep where the prevalence was higher in the sheep raised in semi-intensive system compared with those raised in close system. There was no significant difference in the seroprevalence in goats with regard to management systems. The unexpected high prevalence of SFG rickettsia antibodies in domestic ruminants sera suggest that the veterinary and public health impact of these agents in Sudan need further evaluation especially in humans.

The Effect of Age on the Prevalence of Obesity among US Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder

PubMed Central

Eliasziw, Misha; Phillips, Sarah M.; Curtin, Carol; Kral, Tanja V.E.; Segal, Mary; Sherwood, Nancy E.; Sikich, Linmarie; Stanish, Heidi I.; Bandini, Linda G.

2017-01-01

Abstract Background: We sought to assess the association between age and the prevalence of obesity among children with and without autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in the 2011–2012 National Survey of Children's Health. Methods: Analyses were restricted to 43,777 children, ages 10–17, with valid measures of parent-reported weight, height, and ASD status. Exploratory analyses describe the impact of sex, race/ethnicity, and household income on the relationship between age and obesity in ASD. Results: Although the overall prevalence of obesity among children with ASD was significantly (p < 0.001) higher than among children without ASD (23.1% vs. 14.1%, 95% confidence interval for difference 3.6 to 14.4), child age significantly (p = 0.035) modified this difference. In a multivariable logistic regression analysis, adjusted for sex, race/ethnicity, and household income, the odds of obesity among children with ASD compared with children without ASD increased monotonically from ages 10 to 17 years. This pattern arose due to a consistently high prevalence of obesity among children with ASD and a decline in prevalence with advancing age among children without ASD. These findings were replicated using a propensity score analysis. Exploratory analyses suggested that the age-related change in obesity disparity between children with and without ASD may be further modified by sex, race/ethnicity, and household income. Conclusions: The patterns of prevalence observed with increasing age among children with and without ASD were unexpected. A better understanding of the etiological and maintenance factors for obesity in youth with ASD is needed to develop interventions tailored to the specific needs of these children. PMID:27704874

The blemishes of modern society?

PubMed Central

Strassmann, Beverly I.

2016-01-01

Background and Objectives: Non-communicable diseases may reflect an evolutionary mismatch between our human ancestry and modern environments. To explore the mismatch hypothesis for Acne vulgaris, we studied the prevalence and severity of acne in Dogon adolescents in Mali, West Africa. Methodology: We graded the prevalence and severity of acne in 1182 Dogon adolescents aged 11–18 years from nine villages using facial photos taken as part of a prospective cohort study. Eighty-nine (89%) of the individuals in the cohort migrated to the city during adolescence, enabling us to assess the effect of urban migration. Using multivariable logistic regression, we estimated the effect of predictor variables on the presence of acne. Results: The prevalence of acne in the cohort was 28%, with 90% of cases being mild or very mild. Thus, the prevalence and severity of acne was much lower than for adolescents in high-income countries. Controlling for age, puberty, and body mass index (BMI), the odds of boys developing acne was 85% lower in the city than in the villages (P = 0.002). Conclusion and Implications: Acne is similar to the ‘diseases of civilization’ in being promoted by the pro-inflammatory properties of modern diets. The low prevalence and severity of acne in the Dogon supports the mismatch hypothesis and suggests that acne should join the list of diseases of modern lifestyles. However, we also observed an unexpected decrease in acne in urban boys. Future research is needed for a deeper mechanistic understanding of the interplay between diet, inflammation, immune function and other environmental exposures that differ between urban and rural environments. PMID:27651516

[Trends of malnutrition in Mexican children under five years from 1988 to 2016: Analysis of five national surveys].

PubMed

Cuevas-Nasu, Lucía; Shamah-Levy, Teresa; Hernández-Cordero, Sonia L; González-Castell, L Dinorah; Méndez Gómez-Humarán, Ignacio; Ávila-Arcos, Marco A; Rivera-Dommarco, Juan A

2018-01-01

To study the magnitude, distribution and trends of undernutrition and overweight in Mexican children un¬der five years between 1988 and 2016. Underweight, wasting, stunting and overweight prevalences were calculated, at national, regional and rural/ urban locality levels in children under five years from the 1988, 1999, 2006, 2012 and 2016 national probabilistic surveys. Currently 3.9% suffer underweight, 1.9% wasting and 10% stunting. There was an decrease in stunting from 1988 to 2016 (26.9 vs 10.0%), in rural (43.1 vs 12.6%) and urban (22.5 vs 9.1%) localities and in South (38.6 vs 13.4%), Center (29.2 vs 8.4%) and Mexico City (13.6 vs 4.7%). In the North region the decrease was smaller (13.3 vs 11.4%). Overweight diminished from 9.7% to 5.8, mainly between 2012-2016. Stunting has continued its decline in Mexico, but high prevalences persist in some vulnerable groups. Overweight had an unexpected decline between 2012-2016.

Animacy, perceptual load, and inattentional blindness.

PubMed

Calvillo, Dustin P; Jackson, Russell E

2014-06-01

Inattentional blindness is the failure to notice unexpected objects in a visual scene while engaging in an attention-demanding task. We examined the effects of animacy and perceptual load on inattentional blindness. Participants searched for a category exemplar under low or high perceptual load. On the last trial, the participants were exposed to an unexpected object that was either animate or inanimate. Unexpected objects were detected more frequently when they were animate rather than inanimate, and more frequently with low than with high perceptual loads. We also measured working memory capacity and found that it predicted the detection of unexpected objects, but only with high perceptual loads. The results are consistent with the animate-monitoring hypothesis, which suggests that animate objects capture attention because of the importance of the detection of animate objects in ancestral hunter-gatherer environments.

Sensorimotor and neuropsychological correlates of force perturbations that induce stepping in older adults.

PubMed

Sturnieks, Daina L; Menant, Jasmine; Vanrenterghem, Jos; Delbaere, Kim; Fitzpatrick, Richard C; Lord, Stephen R

2012-07-01

Inappropriate stepping in response to unexpected balance perturbations is more prevalent in older people and in those at risk of falling. This study examined responses to force-controlled waist pulls in young and older people, and sought to identify physiological and cognitive correlates of the force threshold for stepping. 242 older (79.7±4.2 years) and 15 young (29.5±5.3 years) adults underwent waist pull perturbations and assessments of physiological and neuropsychological functioning, general health and falls efficacy. Perturbation force that induced stepping, stepping strategy and number of steps were measured. The older group withstood less forceful perturbations with a feet-in-place strategy, compared to young. Likewise, older adults with high falls risk withstood less force than those with low risk. After controlling for body weight and gender, sway and lower limb strength were independent predictors of anterior stepping thresholds, reaction time was an independent predictor of posterior thresholds, and executive functioning and lower limb strength were independent predictors of the lateral thresholds. These results suggest that balance, strength and agility training, in addition to cognitive exercises may enhance the ability to withstand unexpected balance perturbations and reduce the risk of falls in older people. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Structural imaging biomarkers of sudden unexpected death in epilepsy

PubMed Central

Wandschneider, Britta; Koepp, Matthias; Scott, Catherine; Micallef, Caroline; Balestrini, Simona; Sisodiya, Sanjay M.; Thom, Maria; Harper, Ronald M.; Sander, Josemir W.; Vos, Sjoerd B.; Duncan, John S.; Lhatoo, Samden

2015-01-01

Sudden unexpected death in epilepsy is a major cause of premature death in people with epilepsy. We aimed to assess whether structural changes potentially attributable to sudden death pathogenesis were present on magnetic resonance imaging in people who subsequently died of sudden unexpected death in epilepsy. In a retrospective, voxel-based analysis of T1 volume scans, we compared grey matter volumes in 12 cases of sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (two definite, 10 probable; eight males), acquired 2 years [median, interquartile range (IQR) 2.8] before death [median (IQR) age at scanning 33.5 (22) years], with 34 people at high risk [age 30.5 (12); 19 males], 19 at low risk [age 30 (7.5); 12 males] of sudden death, and 15 healthy controls [age 37 (16); seven males]. At-risk subjects were defined based on risk factors of sudden unexpected death in epilepsy identified in a recent combined risk factor analysis. We identified increased grey matter volume in the right anterior hippocampus/amygdala and parahippocampus in sudden death cases and people at high risk, when compared to those at low risk and controls. Compared to controls, posterior thalamic grey matter volume, an area mediating oxygen regulation, was reduced in cases of sudden unexpected death in epilepsy and subjects at high risk. The extent of reduction correlated with disease duration in all subjects with epilepsy. Increased amygdalo-hippocampal grey matter volume with right-sided changes is consistent with histo-pathological findings reported in sudden infant death syndrome. We speculate that the right-sided predominance reflects asymmetric central influences on autonomic outflow, contributing to cardiac arrhythmia. Pulvinar damage may impair hypoxia regulation. The imaging findings in sudden unexpected death in epilepsy and people at high risk may be useful as a biomarker for risk-stratification in future studies. PMID:26264515

Safe sleep practices in a New Zealand community and development of a Sudden Unexpected Death in Infancy (SUDI) risk assessment instrument.

PubMed

Galland, Barbara C; Gray, Andrew; Sayers, Rachel M; Heath, Anne-Louise M; Lawrence, Julie; Taylor, Rachael; Taylor, Barry J

2014-10-13

Interventions to prevent sudden unexpected death in infancy (SUDI) have generally been population wide interventions instituted after case-control studies identified specific childcare practices associated with sudden death. While successful overall, in New Zealand (NZ), the rates are still relatively high by international comparison. This study aims to describe childcare practices related to SUDI prevention messages in a New Zealand community, and to develop and explore the utility of a risk assessment instrument based on international guidelines and evidence. Prospective longitudinal study of 209 infants recruited antenatally. Participant characteristics and infant care data were collected by questionnaire at: baseline (third trimester), and monthly from infant age 3 weeks through 23 weeks. Published meta-analyses data were used to estimate individual risk ratios for 6 important SUDI risk factors which, when combined, yielded a "SUDI risk score". Most infants were at low risk for SUDI with 72% at the lowest or slightly elevated risk (combined risk ratio ≤1.5). There was a high prevalence of the safe practices: supine sleeping (86-89% over 3-19 weeks), mother not smoking (90-92% over 3-19 weeks), and not bed sharing at a young age (87% at 3 weeks). Five independent predictors of a high SUDI risk score were: higher parity (P =0.028), younger age (P =0.030), not working or caring for other children antenatally (P =0.031), higher depression scores antenatally (P =0.036), and lower education (P =0.042). Groups within the community identified as priorities for education about safe sleep practices beyond standard care are mothers who are young, have high parity, low educational levels, and have symptoms of depression antenatally. These findings emphasize the importance of addressing maternal depression as a modifiable risk factor in pregnancy.

Unexpectedly high leprosy seroprevalence detected using a random surveillance strategy in midwestern Brazil: A comparison of ELISA and a rapid diagnostic test.

PubMed

Frade, Marco Andrey C; de Paula, Natália A; Gomes, Ciro M; Vernal, Sebastian; Bernardes Filho, Fred; Lugão, Helena B; de Abreu, Marilda M M; Botini, Patrícia; Duthie, Malcolm S; Spencer, John S; Soares, Rosa Castália F R; Foss, Norma T

2017-02-01

Leprosy diagnosis is mainly based on clinical evaluation, although this approach is difficult, especially for untrained physicians. We conducted a temporary campaign to detect previously unknown leprosy cases in midwestern Brazil and to compare the performance of different serological tests. A mobile clinic was stationed at the main bus terminal in Brasília, Brazil. Volunteers were quizzed and given a clinical exam to allow categorization as either patients, known contacts of patients or non-contacts, and blood was collected to determine anti-PGL-I and anti-LID-1 antibody titers by ELISA and by the NDO-LID rapid test. New cases of leprosy and the impact of performing this broad random surveillance strategy were evaluated. Accuracy values and concordance between the test results were evaluated among all groups. Four hundred thirty-four individuals were evaluated, and 44 (10.1%) were diagnosed with leprosy. Borderline forms were the most frequent presentation. Both tests presented higher positivity in those individuals with multibacillary disease. Serological tests demonstrated specificities arround 70% for anti-PGL-1 and anti-LID ELISA; and arround 40% for NDO-LID. Sensitivities ranged from 48 to 62%. A substantial agreement between NDO-LID and ELISA with concomitant positive results was found within leprosy patients (Kappa index = 0.79 CI95% 0.36-1.22). The unexpectedly high leprosy prevalence in this population indicates ongoing community-based exposure to Mycobacterium leprae antigens and high rates of subclinical infection. All tests showed low specificity and sensitivity values and therefore cannot be considered for use as stand-alone diagnostics. Rather, considering their positivity among MB patients and non-patients, these tests can be considered effective tools for screening and identifying individuals at high risk who might benefit from regular monitoring.

Genome-wide analysis of genetic susceptibility to language impairment in an isolated Chilean population

PubMed Central

Villanueva, Pia; Newbury, Dianne F; Jara, Lilian; De Barbieri, Zulema; Mirza, Ghazala; Palomino, Hernán M; Fernández, María Angélica; Cazier, Jean-Baptiste; Monaco, Anthony P; Palomino, Hernán

2011-01-01

Specific language impairment (SLI) is an unexpected deficit in the acquisition of language skills and affects between 5 and 8% of pre-school children. Despite its prevalence and high heritability, our understanding of the aetiology of this disorder is only emerging. In this paper, we apply genome-wide techniques to investigate an isolated Chilean population who exhibit an increased frequency of SLI. Loss of heterozygosity (LOH) mapping and parametric and non-parametric linkage analyses indicate that complex genetic factors are likely to underlie susceptibility to SLI in this population. Across all analyses performed, the most consistently implicated locus was on chromosome 7q. This locus achieved highly significant linkage under all three non-parametric models (max NPL=6.73, P=4.0 × 10−11). In addition, it yielded a HLOD of 1.24 in the recessive parametric linkage analyses and contained a segment that was homozygous in two affected individuals. Further, investigation of this region identified a two-SNP haplotype that occurs at an increased frequency in language-impaired individuals (P=0.008). We hypothesise that the linkage regions identified here, in particular that on chromosome 7, may contain variants that underlie the high prevalence of SLI observed in this isolated population and may be of relevance to other populations affected by language impairments. PMID:21248734

Potential roles of high salt intake and maternal malnutrition in the development of hypertension in disadvantaged populations.

PubMed

Thrift, Amanda G; Srikanth, Velandai; Fitzgerald, Sharyn M; Kalyanram, Kartik; Kartik, Kamakshi; Hoppe, Chantal C; Walker, Karen Z; Evans, Roger G

2010-02-01

1. It has been argued that all major risk factors for cardiovascular disease have been identified. Yet, epidemiological studies undertaken to identify risk factors have largely focused on populations in developed nations or on the urban or relatively affluent rural populations of developing countries. Poor rural populations are seldom studied. 2. Somewhat different risk factors may operate in poor rural populations. Evidence for this is provided by the finding that, in disadvantaged rural India, the prevalence of hypertension is greater than would be expected based on established risk factors in these populations. One risk factor to be considered is a poor intrauterine environment. 3. In animals, maternal macro- and micronutrient malnutrition can lead to reduced nephron endowment. Nephron deficiency, in turn, can render blood pressure salt sensitive. The combination of nephron deficiency and excessive salt intake will predispose to hypertension. 4. Human malnutrition may have similar effects, particularly in regions of the world where malnutrition is endemic and where women are disadvantaged by existing social practices. 5. Moreover, high salt intake is endemic in many parts of Asia, including India. Therefore, we propose that maternal malnutrition (leading to reduced nephron endowment), when combined with excessive salt intake postnatally, will account, at least in part, for the unexpectedly high prevalence of hypertension in disadvantaged rural communities in India and elsewhere.

Spatial and temporal heterogeneity of Anopheles mosquitoes and Plasmodium falciparum transmission along the Kenyan coast.

PubMed

Mbogo, Charles M; Mwangangi, Joseph M; Nzovu, Joseph; Gu, Weidong; Yan, Guiyan; Gunter, James T; Swalm, Chris; Keating, Joseph; Regens, James L; Shililu, Josephat I; Githure, John I; Beier, John C

2003-06-01

The seasonal dynamics and spatial distributions of Anopheles mosquitoes and Plasmodium falciparum parasites were studied for one year at 30 villages in Malindi, Kilifi, and Kwale Districts along the coast of Kenya. Anopheline mosquitoes were sampled inside houses at each site once every two months and malaria parasite prevalence in local school children was determined at the end of the entomologic survey. A total of 5,476 Anopheles gambiae s.l. and 3,461 An. funestus were collected. Species in the An. gambiae complex, identified by a polymerase chain reaction, included 81.9% An. gambiae s.s., 12.8% An. arabiensis, and 5.3% An. merus. Anopheles gambiae s.s. contributed most to the transmission of P. falciparum along the coast as a whole, while An. funestus accounted for more than 50% of all transmission in Kwale District. Large spatial heterogeneity of transmission intensity (< 1 up to 120 infective bites per person per year) resulted in correspondingly large and significantly related variations in parasite prevalence (range = 38-83%). Thirty-two percent of the sites (7 of 22 sites) with malaria prevalences ranging from 38% to 70% had annual entomologic inoculation rates (EIR) less than five infective bites per person per year. Anopheles gambiae s.l. and An. funestus densities in Kwale were not significantly influenced by rainfall. However, both were positively correlated with rainfall one and three months previously in Malindi and Kilifi Districts, respectively. These unexpected variations in the relationship between mosquito populations and rainfall suggest environmental heterogeneity in the predominant aquatic habitats in each district. One important conclusion is that the highly non-linear relationship between EIRs and prevalence indicates that the consistent pattern of high prevalence might be governed by substantial variation in transmission intensity measured by entomologic surveys. The field-based estimate of entomologic parameters on a district level does not provide a sensitive indicator of transmission intensity in this study.

Unexpected plateauing of childhood obesity rates in developed countries

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Surveys performed in the past 10 to 15 years show a yet unexplained stabilization or decline in prevalence rates of childhood obesity in developed countries. The projected continuous increase in obesity prevalence throughout future decades seems not to occur at present. Apparently, saturation has been reached, which might be related to societal adjustments. Hence, we postulate a cumulative effect of public health programs for obesity prevention resulting, for example, in an increase in physical activity, and a decline in television viewing and in the consumption of sugar-sweetened soft drinks by children. Effective public health programs are urgently needed for developing countries, where obesity rates in children still continued to increase during the past decade. PMID:24485015

Food allergy in South African children with atopic dermatitis.

PubMed

Gray, Claudia L; Levin, Michael E; Zar, Heather J; Potter, Paul C; Khumalo, Nonhlanhla P; Volkwyn, Lucia; Fenemore, Bartha; du Toit, George

2014-10-01

The prevalence of food allergy in South Africa is unknown, but previously thought to be rare in black South Africans. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of, and risk factors for, IgE-mediated food allergy in South African children with atopic dermatitis (AD). This was a prospective, observational study in a paediatric university hospital in Cape Town. Children with AD, aged 6 months to 10 yrs, were randomly recruited from the dermatology clinic. They were assessed for sensitization and allergy by questionnaire, skin prick tests, Immuno Solid Phase Allergen Chip (ISAC) test and incremental food challenges. 100 participants (59 black Africans and 41 of mixed race) were enrolled, median age 42 months. There were high overall rates of food sensitization (66%) and food allergy (40%). Egg (25%) and peanut (24%) were the most common allergies. Black participants had comparable sensitization (69% vs. 61%) but lower allergy rates (34% vs. 46%) than mixed race participants. This was especially evident for peanut allergy (15% Blacks vs. 37% mixed race allergic to peanut, p = 0.01). Early-onset AD (<6 months), severe eczema, and young age <2 yrs were significant risk factors for food allergy. The prevalence of food allergy is unexpectedly high in South African children with AD, and comparable with food allergy rates in patients with AD in developed countries. There are ethnic differences, with significantly lower peanut allergy rates in Blacks compared to mixed race patients. These results are not generalizable to an unselected South African population, which requires further study. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Presence and species identity of rumen flukes in cattle and sheep in the Netherlands.

PubMed

Ploeger, H W; Ankum, L; Moll, L; van Doorn, D C K; Mitchell, G; Skuce, P J; Zadoks, R N; Holzhauer, M

2017-08-30

The purpose of the study was to gain knowledge about the prevalence and identity of rumen flukes (RF) in cattle and sheep in the Netherlands. Routine faecal examinations of diagnostic submissions between May 2009 and September 2014 showed a mean annual herd or flock RF prevalence of 15.8% for cattle and 8.0% for sheep. Prevalence in cattle was higher after 2012 than before, which may reflect a change in detection method as well as an increase in true prevalence. During November and December 2014, an abattoir survey was conducted to allow for scoring of rumen fluke burden and to obtain specimens for molecular species characterization. Over 8 visits to 5 abattoirs in areas deemed to pose a high risk for trematode infection, 116 cows and 41 sheep from 27 herds and 10 flocks were examined. Prevalence of RF was higher in beef cattle than in dairy cattle and higher in cattle than in sheep. Median fluke burden was >100 specimens per animal for most positive animals. Using a semi-quantitative RF density score as a gold standard, sensitivity and specificity of a modified quantitative Dorsman egg counting method were estimated at 82.6% and 83.3%, respectively. Of 14 collected adult rumen flukes, twelve (8 bovine and 4 ovine specimens) were identified as Calicophoron daubneyi. The other two, of bovine origin, were identified as Paramphistomum leydeni, which was unexpected as in other European countries all recently collected rumen flukes in both cattle and sheep were identified as C. daubneyi. The findings implicate that multiple rumen fluke species, intermediate host species and transmission cycles may play a role in rumen fluke infections in the Netherlands. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Neuropsychiatric Symptoms in People With Korsakoff Syndrome and Other Alcohol-Related Cognitive Disorders Living in Specialized Long-Term Care Facilities: Prevalence, Severity, and Associated Caregiver Distress.

PubMed

Gerridzen, Ineke J; Hertogh, Cees M P M; Depla, Marja F; Veenhuizen, Ruth B; Verschuur, Els M L; Joling, Karlijn J

2018-03-01

Caring for people with Korsakoff syndrome (KS) residing in specialized long-term care facilities (LTCFs) can be distressing because of challenging neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS). However, good-quality studies on NPS in this under-researched population are lacking. This study examined the prevalence and severity of NPS in people with KS living in specialized LTCFs and the associated caregiver distress. Cross-sectional, observational study. Data were obtained using structured interviews with care staff, elderly care physicians, and residents. Nine specialized LTCFs in the Netherlands. KS residents admitted for at least 3 months. The prevalence and severity of NPS were measured with the Neuropsychiatric Inventory-Questionnaire (NPI-Q). The associated caregiver distress was assessed with the NPI Distress Scale (NPI-D) according to the nurse or nurse assistant. Almost all of the 281 residents (96.4%) showed at least 1 NPS and 45.8% showed 5 or more symptoms. Irritability/lability (68.3%), agitation/aggression (58.7%), and disinhibition (52.7%) were most prevalent. Although the mean level of severity for all NPS was relatively low, half of the residents (49.1%) had at least 1 severe NPS. Care staff experienced low levels of distress associated with NPS. NPS are highly prevalent in KS residents. Unexpectedly, these did not have any severe impact on residents and care staff. Acquiring more insight into the persistence and course of NPS, and its associations, among KS residents is important to better understand and reduce these symptoms and, ultimately, improve the quality of care for these residents. Copyright © 2017 AMDA – The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Prevalence of depression in Type 1 diabetes and the problem of over-diagnosis.

PubMed

Fisher, L; Hessler, D M; Polonsky, W H; Masharani, U; Peters, A L; Blumer, I; Strycker, L A

2016-11-01

To determine the prevalence of depression and diabetes distress in adults with Type 1 diabetes and the rate of false-positives when compared with rates of major depressive disorder. The sample consisted of 368 individuals with Type 1 diabetes, aged > 19 years. Individuals completed: the eight-item Patient Health Questionnaire depression scale (PHQ8), which was coded using four scoring criteria (scores > 10, >12 and >15, and Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 5 (DSM) algorithm scores); the Type 1 Diabetes Distress Scale; and the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM Disorders (SCID) to assess major depressive disorder. The prevalence rates of depression according to the eight-item Patient Health Questionnaire were: score >10, 11.4%; score >12, 7.1%; score >15, 3.8%; and positive algorithm result, 4.6%. The prevalence of major depressive disorder was 3.5%; and the prevalence of at least moderate diabetes distress was 42.1%. Depending on the criterion used, the false-positive rate when using the Patient Health Questionnaire compared with the results when using the SCID varied from 52 to 71%. Of those classified as depressed on the PHQ-8 or Structured Clinical Interview for DSM Disorders, between 92.3 and 96.2% also reported elevated diabetes distress. No significant association was found between any group classed as having depression according to the PHQ8 or the SCID and HbA 1c concentration. Depression was significantly associated with more other life stress, more complications and a lower level of education. We found an unexpectedly low rate of current depression and major depressive disorder in this diverse sample of adults with Type 1 diabetes, and a very high rate of false-positive results using the Patient Health Questionnaire. Considering the high prevalence of diabetes distress, much of what has been considered depression in adults with Type 1 diabetes may be attributed to the emotional distress associated with managing a demanding chronic disease and other life stressors and not necessarily to underlying psychopathology. © 2015 Diabetes UK.

Case Studies of Officer and Enlisted Single Parents in the Army: Performance, Retention, and Quality of Life

DTIC Science & Technology

1987-06-01

de- mands unexpected or inordinate amounts of time; (2) the prevalence of child - care problems, especially finding arrangements flexible enough to...associated with frequent relocations, especially the need to reestablish the netwqrk of socia] and child -care supports that enable single parents...most concern to single parents include time pressures, daily child -care arrangements, back-up and emergency supports for children, and frequent

Worldwide prevalence and incidence of osteoporotic vertebral fractures.

PubMed

Ballane, G; Cauley, J A; Luckey, M M; El-Hajj Fuleihan, G

2017-05-01

We investigated the prevalence and incidence of vertebral fractures worldwide. We used a systematic Medline search current to 2015 and updated as per authors' libraries. A total of 62 articles of fair to good quality and comparable methods for vertebral fracture identification were considered. The prevalence of morphometric vertebral fractures in European women is highest in Scandinavia (26%) and lowest in Eastern Europe (18%). Prevalence rates in North America (NA) for White women ≥50 are 20-24%, with a White/Black ratio of 1.6. Rates in women ≥50 years in Latin America are overall lower than Europe and NA (11-19%). In Asia, rates in women above ≥65 are highest in Japan (24%), lowest in Indonesia (9%), and in the Middle East, Lebanon, rates are 20%. The highest-lowest ratio between countries, within and across continents, varied from 1.4-2.6. Incidence data is less abundant and more heterogeneous. Age-standardized rates in studies combining hospitalized and ambulatory vertebral fractures are highest in South Korea, USA, and Hong Kong and lowest in the UK. Neither a North-South gradient nor a relation to urbanization is evident. Conversely, the incidence of hospitalized vertebral fractures in European patients ≥50 shows a North-South gradient with 3-3.7-fold variability. In the USA, rates in Whites are approximately 4-fold higher than in Blacks. Vertebral fractures variation worldwide is lower than observed with hip fractures, and some of highest rates are unexpectedly from Asia. Better quality representative studies are needed. We investigate the occurrence of vertebral fractures, worldwide, using published data current until the present. Worldwide, the variation in vertebral fractures is lower than observed for hip fractures. Some of the highest rates are from North America and unexpectedly Asia. The highest-lowest ratio between countries, within and across continents, varied from 1.4-2.6. Better quality representative data is needed.

The N400 and the P300 are not all that independent.

PubMed

Arbel, Yael; Spencer, Kevin M; Donchin, Emanuel

2011-06-01

This study assessed whether two ERP components that are elicited by unexpected events interact. The conditions that are known to elicit the N400 and the P300 ERP components were applied separately and in combination to terminal-words in sentences. Each sentence ended with a terminal-word that was highly expected, semantically unexpected, physically deviant, or both semantically unexpected and physically deviant. In addition, we varied the level of semantic relatedness between the unexpected terminal-words and the expected exemplars. Physically deviant words elicited a P300, whereas semantically unexpected words elicited an N400, whose amplitude was sensitive to the level of semantic relatedness. Words that were both semantically unexpected and physically deviant elicited both an N400 with enhanced amplitude, and a P300 with reduced amplitude. These results suggest an interaction between the processes manifested by the two components. Copyright © 2010 Society for Psychophysiological Research.

Gastro-intestinal parasite infections of Ankole cattle in an unhealthy landscape: An assessment of ecological predictors.

PubMed

Sun, Ping; Wronski, Torsten; Bariyanga, Jean D; Apio, Ann

2018-03-15

The distribution of gastro-intestinal (GI) parasites across landscapes is closely related to the spatial distribution of hosts. In GI parasites with environmental life stages, the vitality of parasites is also affected by ecological and landscape-related components of the environment. This is particularly relevant for domestic livestock species that are often kept across habitats with varying degrees of degradation, exposing them to a wide range of environmentally robust parasite species. In our study, we examined the effect of environmental and anthropogenic factors on the prevalence and intensity of GI parasites across a free-ranging stock of Ankole cattle in the Mutara rangelands of northeastern Rwanda. Prevalence and intensity of each parasite type (i.e., strongyle-type nematodes, Strongyloides spp., Moniezia spp., and Eimeria spp.) were used as dependent variables. Two fixed factors related to season and conservation-political history, together with three principal components (condensed from nine ecological variables) were used as independent covariates in a univariate General Linear Model (GLM). Major effects on the prevalence and intensity of strongyle-type nematodes and on the intensity of Eimeria spp. were found in that vegetation-related effects such as above-ground grass biomass in conjunction with a high degree of soil compaction had a negative relationship with these parasite types. These unexpected findings suggest that strongyle-type and coccidian infections increase with increasing rangeland degradation. Strongyle-type nematode prevalence and intensity were also negatively related to goat/sheep density, indicating a 'dilution effect' of GI infections between domestic livestock species. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Oral health of the Paleoamericans of Lagoa Santa, Central Brazil.

PubMed

Da-Gloria, Pedro; Larsen, Clark Spencer

2014-05-01

The peopling, origins, and early prehistory of the Americas are topics of intense debate. However, few studies have used human remains to document and interpret patterns of health and lifestyle of Paleoamericans. This study provides the first investigation to characterize oral health in a series of early Holocene skeletal remains from Lagoa Santa, Brazil, a locality containing the remains of some of the earliest inhabitants of South America (10,000-7,000 BP). The sample is composed of 949 teeth and 1925 alveoli from an estimated 113 individuals excavated from 17 archaeological sites located in the State of Minas Gerais. We compare dental caries and abscess prevalence at Lagoa Santa to a large sample of human skeletons from the Western Hemisphere Project (WHP) database using both individual and tooth/alveolus count methods. In addition, antemortem tooth loss and tooth wear were analyzed in Lagoa Santa by sex and age. The results show that Lagoa Santa dental caries and abscess prevalence are significantly higher than observed among other hunter-gatherers included in the WHP database, except when abscess prevalence is considered by individual count. Adult females have less tooth wear coupled with higher prevalence of dental caries and antemortem tooth loss than adult males. These results point to an unexpected record of poor oral health at Lagoa Santa, especially among females. A diet based on a highly cariogenic combination of wild tubers and fruits is suggested as an explanation for the elevated rate, characterizing an early adaptation to a tropical environment in South America. Copyright © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Metatranscriptomic analysis of a high-sulfide aquatic spring reveals insights into sulfur cycling and unexpected aerobic metabolism

PubMed Central

Elshahed, Mostafa S.; Najar, Fares Z.; Krumholz, Lee R.

2015-01-01

Zodletone spring is a sulfide-rich spring in southwestern Oklahoma characterized by shallow, microoxic, light-exposed spring water overlaying anoxic sediments. Previously, culture-independent 16S rRNA gene based diversity surveys have revealed that Zodletone spring source sediments harbor a highly diverse microbial community, with multiple lineages putatively involved in various sulfur-cycling processes. Here, we conducted a metatranscriptomic survey of microbial populations in Zodletone spring source sediments to characterize the relative prevalence and importance of putative phototrophic, chemolithotrophic, and heterotrophic microorganisms in the sulfur cycle, the identity of lineages actively involved in various sulfur cycling processes, and the interaction between sulfur cycling and other geochemical processes at the spring source. Sediment samples at the spring’s source were taken at three different times within a 24-h period for geochemical analyses and RNA sequencing. In depth mining of datasets for sulfur cycling transcripts revealed major sulfur cycling pathways and taxa involved, including an unexpected potential role of Actinobacteria in sulfide oxidation and thiosulfate transformation. Surprisingly, transcripts coding for the cyanobacterial Photosystem II D1 protein, methane monooxygenase, and terminal cytochrome oxidases were encountered, indicating that genes for oxygen production and aerobic modes of metabolism are actively being transcribed, despite below-detectable levels (<1 µM) of oxygen in source sediment. Results highlight transcripts involved in sulfur, methane, and oxygen cycles, propose that oxygenic photosynthesis could support aerobic methane and sulfide oxidation in anoxic sediments exposed to sunlight, and provide a viewpoint of microbial metabolic lifestyles under conditions similar to those seen during late Archaean and Proterozoic eons. PMID:26417542

Metatranscriptomic analysis of a high-sulfide aquatic spring reveals insights into sulfur cycling and unexpected aerobic metabolism.

PubMed

Spain, Anne M; Elshahed, Mostafa S; Najar, Fares Z; Krumholz, Lee R

2015-01-01

Zodletone spring is a sulfide-rich spring in southwestern Oklahoma characterized by shallow, microoxic, light-exposed spring water overlaying anoxic sediments. Previously, culture-independent 16S rRNA gene based diversity surveys have revealed that Zodletone spring source sediments harbor a highly diverse microbial community, with multiple lineages putatively involved in various sulfur-cycling processes. Here, we conducted a metatranscriptomic survey of microbial populations in Zodletone spring source sediments to characterize the relative prevalence and importance of putative phototrophic, chemolithotrophic, and heterotrophic microorganisms in the sulfur cycle, the identity of lineages actively involved in various sulfur cycling processes, and the interaction between sulfur cycling and other geochemical processes at the spring source. Sediment samples at the spring's source were taken at three different times within a 24-h period for geochemical analyses and RNA sequencing. In depth mining of datasets for sulfur cycling transcripts revealed major sulfur cycling pathways and taxa involved, including an unexpected potential role of Actinobacteria in sulfide oxidation and thiosulfate transformation. Surprisingly, transcripts coding for the cyanobacterial Photosystem II D1 protein, methane monooxygenase, and terminal cytochrome oxidases were encountered, indicating that genes for oxygen production and aerobic modes of metabolism are actively being transcribed, despite below-detectable levels (<1 µM) of oxygen in source sediment. Results highlight transcripts involved in sulfur, methane, and oxygen cycles, propose that oxygenic photosynthesis could support aerobic methane and sulfide oxidation in anoxic sediments exposed to sunlight, and provide a viewpoint of microbial metabolic lifestyles under conditions similar to those seen during late Archaean and Proterozoic eons.

Causes of suicidal behaviors in men who have sex with men in China: a national questionnaire survey.

PubMed

Chen, Hongquan; Li, Yang; Wang, Lixin; Zhang, Beichuan

2015-02-07

Men who have sex with men (MSM) have become a high-risk group of HIV infection in China. To date, little is known regarding the psychological characteristics in Chinese MSM, especially the prevalence of suicidal ideation and attempts. A questionnaire survey was conducted on 2,250 MSM recruited from gay bars in 9 large cities in mainland China. Data on the prevalence of suicidal ideation and attempts as well as the underlying causes in the respondents were analyzed. A total of 1530 MSM responded to the question regarding previous suicidal ideation and attempts. Of these respondents, 26.01% had ever considered suicide and 12.55% actually attempted suicide at least once. Romantic gay relationship breakup was the number one cause of suicide behaviors, followed by self-objection to homosexuality, difficulties in finding gay partners or in getting used to heterosexual marriage life, sudden emotional hurts from unexpected events, illegal status of gay marriage in China and disclosure of homosexuality. The survey study has led to a better understanding of the factors contributing to suicide behaviors of MSM in China, which may have significant implications in developing preventive strategies against suicide behaviors in this unique group of individuals.

Soil transmitted helminthiasis in different occupational groups in Swat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.

PubMed

Khan, Wali; Nisa, Noorun; Khan, Aly

2017-07-01

We investigated the prevalence of geohelminth parasites in farmers, education concerned and shepherd of Swat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. A total of 1041 stool samples were examined from January 2006 to December 2008 using direct smear (Normal saline and Lugol's Iodine solution) the concentration methods and procedures. Seven hundred and sixty three (73.2%) individuals were found infected with one or more than one geohelminth parasites. Four hundred and eighteen (54.7%) were infected with single parasite and three hundred forty five (45.3%) with multiple infections. Ascaris lumbricoides 460 (53.0%), Trichuris trichura 228 (26.2%), Enterobius vermicularis 123 (14.1%) and Ancylostoma duedenale 56 (6.45%) were detected. The adults were found more parasitized than children and males were more infected than females. Shepherds were found more infected than farmers and education concerned. Although Swat is an area with poor hygiene located in temperate zone near the border of Afghanistan and China. The prevalence of reported geohelminth parasites here compared with the same studies is unexpectedly high. These types of studies should continue time to time to know the hazardous of such parasitic infections for the betterment of the human health.

Burnout in hospital-based medical consultants in the New Zealand public health system.

PubMed

Surgenor, Lois J; Spearing, Ruth L; Horn, Jacqueline; Beautrais, Annette L; Mulder, Roger T; Chen, Peggy

2009-08-07

To assess the prevalence and severity of burnout in hospital-based medical consultants, and investigate associated demographic and professional characteristics. Utilising standardised measures of burnout (Maslach Burnout Inventory) and job satisfaction (Job Satisfaction Scale) this cross-sectional study recruited 267 consultants working in a large tertiary hospital in Christchurch, New Zealand. Seventy-one percent of all eligible participants were recruited. The prevalence of burnout in each of the three dimensions was as follows: High Emotional Exhaustion=29.7%; High Depersonalisation=24.4%; Low Personal Accomplishment=31.2%. One in five consultants was assessed as having high overall burnout. Considered against the psychometric norms for medical workers, significantly more consultants than expected reported low Emotional Exhaustion (p<0.001) and low Depersonalisation (p<0.01). Working longer hours (p<0.01), lower job satisfaction (p<0.001), and shorter time in the current job (p<0.05) independently increased the risk of high Emotional Exhaustion. Working longer hours (p<0.05) and lower job satisfaction (p<.01) independently increased the risk of high Depersonalisation. Longer time in the same job increased the risk of low Personal Accomplishment (p<0.05). Longer hours worked (p<0.05), shorter vocational experience as a consultant (p<0.05), and lower job satisfaction (p<0.001) independently increased the risk of high overall burnout. An unexpected proportion of consultants experience robust emotional well-being and healthy work engagement. However, for those experiencing high burnout, by severity or dimension, working long hours and low job satisfaction appear to be particularly contributory factors. Whilst remedial interventions should target the minority who experience significant burnout, studies using robust research designs are required to assess the meaningful clinical utility of these. The challenge remains to determine the optimal organisational practices to minimise burnout in this workforce.

The unexpected discovery of Brucella abortus Buck 19 vaccine in goats from Ecuador underlines the importance of biosecurity measures.

PubMed

Ron-Román, Jorge; Berkvens, Dirk; Barzallo-Rivadeneira, Daniela; Angulo-Cruz, Alexandra; González-Andrade, Pablo; Minda-Aluisa, Elizabeth; Benítez-Ortíz, Washington; Brandt, Jef; Rodríguez-Hidalgo, Richar; Saegerman, Claude

2017-03-01

Very few, mostly old, and only preliminary serological studies of brucellosis in goats exist in Ecuador. In order to assess the current epidemiological situation, we performed a cross-sectional serological study in the goat populations of Carchi (n = 160 animals), Pichincha (n = 224 animals), and Loja provinces (n = 2024 animals). Only two positive serological results (RB negative and SAT-EDTA ≥400 IU/ml) were obtained in lactating goats from the same farm in Quito (Pichincha province). Additionally, milk was sampled from 220 animals in Pichincha province. The present study indicates a low apparent prevalence in Pichincha province and absence in Carchi and Loja provinces. A total of 25 positive milk ring tests (MRT) were obtained in Pichincha province yielding a prevalence of MRT of 11.16%. Subsequent culture was performed on the positive MRT samples. All results were negative, apart from a single sample, obtained from a serologically positive goat in Quito, that was positive for Brucella abortus strain 19 (B19). Several hypotheses are forwarded concerning this unexpected result. The most likely hypothesis is the possible accidental use of a needle, previously used for vaccination of cattle with the said vaccine, for the administration of drug treatment to the goat. This hypothesis underlines the necessity of biosecurity measures to prevent this type of accidents.

All-cause mortality and its risk factors among type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus in a country facing diabetes epidemic.

PubMed

Al-Rubeaan, Khalid; Youssef, Amira M; Ibrahim, Heba M; Al-Sharqawi, Ahmad H; AlQumaidi, Hamid; AlNaqeb, Dhekra; Aburisheh, Khaled H

2016-08-01

Diabetes mellitus is associated with an increased risk of premature death mainly secondary to macrovascular and microvascular complications. Mortality data from the Eastern Mediterranean region known for its high diabetes prevalence are lacking. We aimed to assess all-cause mortality and its predictors using large cohort from the Saudi National Diabetes Registry (SNDR). The study population comprised of 40,827 individuals with type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus aged ⩾25years registered in SNDR between January 2007 and December 2013. All patients were followed until death, according to the date of death or reaching 100years of age or end of the study. Death was verified from the national civil affairs database. The general population during the study period was used as a reference for standardized mortality ratio (SMR) calculation. With a total of 152,038 person-years of follow up, 2582 patients were deceased giving all-cause mortality rate of 16.98 per 1000 person-years and SMR (95% CI) of 1.93 (1.86-2.00). Mortality rates were higher among men and increased with age, while SMR attenuated with increasing age. The independent predictors for all-cause mortality were longer diabetes duration, presence of macrovascular complications, nephropathy, retinopathy, hypertension, male gender and older age, while morbid obesity and the presence of hyperlipidemia were associated with reduced risk. The unexpectedly low mortality rate in this population would be associated with higher number of deaths as a result of the high prevalence of diabetes and its complications. Reducing the prevalence of diabetes and its complications would reduce the risk of mortality. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Tonic tensor tympani syndrome in tinnitus and hyperacusis patients: a multi-clinic prevalence study.

PubMed

Westcott, Myriam; Sanchez, Tanit Ganz; Diges, Isabel; Saba, Clarice; Dineen, Ross; McNeill, Celene; Chiam, Alison; O'Keefe, Mary; Sharples, Tricia

2013-01-01

Tonic tensor tympani syndrome (TTTS) is an involuntary, anxiety-based condition where the reflex threshold for tensor tympani muscle activity is reduced, causing a frequent spasm. This can trigger aural symptoms from tympanic membrane tension, middle ear ventilation alterations and trigeminal nerve irritability. TTTS is considered to cause the distinctive symptoms of acoustic shock (AS), which can develop after exposure to an unexpected loud sound perceived as highly threatening. Hyperacusis is a dominant AS symptom. Aural pain/blockage without underlying pathology has been noted in tinnitus and hyperacusis patients, without wide acknowledgment. This multiclinic study investigated the prevalence of TTTS symptoms and AS in tinnitus and hyperacusis patients. This study included consecutive patients with tinnitus and/or hyperacusis seen in multiple clinics. Symptoms consistent with TTTS (pain/numbness/burning in and around the ear; aural "blockage"; mild vertigo/nausea; "muffled" hearing; tympanic flutter; headache); onset or exacerbation from exposure to loud/intolerable sounds; tinnitus/hyperacusis severity. All patients were medically cleared of underlying pathology, which could cause these symptoms. 60.0% of the total sample (345 patients), 40.6% of tinnitus only patients, 81.1% of hyperacusis patients had ≥ 1 symptoms (P < 0.001). 68% of severe tinnitus patients, 91.3% of severe hyperacusis patients had ≥ 1 symptoms (P < 0.001). 19.7% (68/345) of patients in the total sample had AS. 83.8% of AS patients had hyperacusis, 41.2% of non-AS patients had hyperacusis (P < 0.001). The high prevalence of TTTS symptoms suggests they readily develop in tinnitus patients, more particularly with hyperacusis. Along with AS, they should be routinely investigated in history-taking.

Unexpectedly high leprosy seroprevalence detected using a random surveillance strategy in midwestern Brazil: A comparison of ELISA and a rapid diagnostic test

PubMed Central

Bernardes Filho, Fred; de Abreu, Marilda M. M.; Botini, Patrícia; Duthie, Malcolm S.; Spencer, John S.; Soares, Rosa Castália F. R.

2017-01-01

Background Leprosy diagnosis is mainly based on clinical evaluation, although this approach is difficult, especially for untrained physicians. We conducted a temporary campaign to detect previously unknown leprosy cases in midwestern Brazil and to compare the performance of different serological tests. Methods A mobile clinic was stationed at the main bus terminal in Brasília, Brazil. Volunteers were quizzed and given a clinical exam to allow categorization as either patients, known contacts of patients or non-contacts, and blood was collected to determine anti-PGL-I and anti-LID-1 antibody titers by ELISA and by the NDO-LID rapid test. New cases of leprosy and the impact of performing this broad random surveillance strategy were evaluated. Accuracy values and concordance between the test results were evaluated among all groups. Results Four hundred thirty-four individuals were evaluated, and 44 (10.1%) were diagnosed with leprosy. Borderline forms were the most frequent presentation. Both tests presented higher positivity in those individuals with multibacillary disease. Serological tests demonstrated specificities arround 70% for anti-PGL-1 and anti-LID ELISA; and arround 40% for NDO-LID. Sensitivities ranged from 48 to 62%. A substantial agreement between NDO-LID and ELISA with concomitant positive results was found within leprosy patients (Kappa index = 0.79 CI95% 0.36–1.22). Conclusions The unexpectedly high leprosy prevalence in this population indicates ongoing community-based exposure to Mycobacterium leprae antigens and high rates of subclinical infection. All tests showed low specificity and sensitivity values and therefore cannot be considered for use as stand-alone diagnostics. Rather, considering their positivity among MB patients and non-patients, these tests can be considered effective tools for screening and identifying individuals at high risk who might benefit from regular monitoring. PMID:28231244

[Biological mechanisms of myopia].

PubMed

Schaeffel, F

2017-01-01

Recent studies have confirmed that the prevalence of myopia has increased in most countries, that the increase must be due to environmental factors and that myopia is closely linked to the level of education. Extensive close-up work with short viewing distances, little outdoor activity and continuous exposure to low illumination are currently considered the major factors. It remains unknown how close-up work can stimulate eye growth. Animal models provide the possibility to manipulate visual experiences and to observe subsequent changes in eye growth. They have uncovered a number of unexpected aspects which have led to studies in children. When applied in low doses atropine (0.01 %) is effective against progression of myopia and shows no rebound effect after termination of the treatment, in contrast to treatment with previously used higher doses. While education cannot be limited in our society, there are now an increasing number of options to slow myopia progression so that high myopia is less frequently reached.

Probing the closed-loop model of mRNA translation in living cells

PubMed Central

Archer, Stuart K; Shirokikh, Nikolay E; Hallwirth, Claus V; Beilharz, Traude H; Preiss, Thomas

2015-01-01

The mRNA closed-loop, formed through interactions between the cap structure, poly(A) tail, eIF4E, eIF4G and PAB, features centrally in models of eukaryotic translation initiation, although direct support for its existence in vivo is not well established. Here, we investigated the closed-loop using a combination of mRNP isolation from rapidly cross-linked cells and high-throughput qPCR. Using the interaction between these factors and the opposing ends of mRNAs as a proxy for the closed-loop, we provide evidence that it is prevalent for eIF4E/4G-bound but unexpectedly sparse for PAB1-bound mRNAs, suggesting it primarily occurs during a distinct phase of polysome assembly. We observed mRNA-specific variation in the extent of closed-loop formation, consistent with a role for polysome topology in the control of gene expression. PMID:25826658

Photocurrent generation in a metallic transition-metal dichalcogenide

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mehmood, Naveed; Rasouli, Hamid Reza; ćakıroǧlu, Onur; Kasırga, T. Serkan

2018-05-01

Photocurrent generation is unexpected in metallic 2D layered materials unless a photothermal mechanism is prevalent. Yet, typical high thermal conductivity and low absorption of the visible spectrum prevent photothermal current generation in metals. Here, we report photoresponse from two-terminal devices of mechanically exfoliated metallic 3R-Nb S2 thin crystals using scanning photocurrent microscopy (SPCM) both at zero and finite bias. SPCM measurements reveal that the photocurrent predominantly emerges from metal/Nb S2 junctions of the two-terminal device at zero bias. At finite biases, along with the photocurrent generated at metal/Nb S2 junctions, now a negative photoresponse from all over the Nb S2 crystal is evident. Among our results, we realized that the observed photocurrent can be explained by the local heating caused by the laser excitation. These findings show that Nb S2 is among a few metallic materials in which photocurrent generation is possible.

Neuropsychiatric manifestations in late-onset urea cycle disorder patients.

PubMed

Serrano, Mercedes; Martins, Cecilia; Pérez-Dueñas, Belén; Gómez-López, Lilian; Murgui, Empar; Fons, Carmen; García-Cazorla, Angels; Artuch, Rafael; Jara, Fernando; Arranz, José A; Häberle, Johannes; Briones, Paz; Campistol, Jaume; Pineda, Mercedes; Vilaseca, Maria A

2010-03-01

Inherited urea cycle disorders represent one of the most common groups of inborn errors of metabolism. Late-onset urea cycle disorders caused by partial enzyme deficiencies may present with unexpected clinical phenotypes. We report 9 patients followed up in our hospital presenting late-onset urea cycle disorders who initially manifested neuropsychiatric/neurodevelopmental symptoms (the most prevalent neuropsychiatric/neurodevelopmental diagnoses were mental retardation, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder [ADHD], language disorder, and delirium). Generally, these clinical pictures did not benefit from pharmacological treatment. Conversely, dietary treatment improved the symptoms. Regarding biochemical data, 2 patients showed normal ammonium but high glutamine levels. This study highlights the fact that neuropsychiatric/neurodevelopmental findings are common among the initial symptomatology of late-onset urea cycle disorders. The authors recommend that unexplained or nonresponsive neuropsychiatric/neurodevelopmental symptoms appearing during childhood or adolescence be followed by a study of ammonia and amino acid plasmatic levels to rule out a urea cycle disorder.

Cheating, trade-offs and the evolution of aggressiveness in a natural pathogen population

PubMed Central

Barrett, Luke; Bell, Thomas; Dwyer, Greg; Bergelson, Joy

2011-01-01

The evolutionary dynamics of pathogens are critically important for disease outcomes, prevalence and emergence. In this study we investigate ecological conditions that may promote the long-term maintenance of virulence polymorphisms in pathogen populations. Recent theory predicts that evolution towards increased virulence can be reversed if less aggressive social ‘cheats’ exploit more aggressive ‘cooperator’ pathogens. However, there is no evidence that social exploitation operates within natural pathogen populations. We show that for the bacterium Pseudomonas syringae, major polymorphisms for pathogenicity are maintained at unexpectedly high frequencies in populations infecting the host Arabidopsis thaliana. Experiments reveal that less aggressive strains substantially increase their growth potential in mixed infections and have a fitness advantage in non-host environments. These results suggest that niche differentiation can contribute to the maintenance of virulence polymorphisms, and that both within-host and between-host growth rates modulate cheating and cooperation in P. syringae populations. PMID:21951910

Chemoreceptor Tumors Diagnosed at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine 1967-1979

PubMed Central

Yates, W. D. G.; Lester, S. J.; Mills, J. H. L.

1980-01-01

Twenty-nine chemoreceptor tumors submitted to the Western College of Veterinary Medicine, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan between 1967 and 1979 were compared with those previously reported. The prevalence was low, with 28 cases occurring in dogs while only one was diagnosed in a cat. Old male dogs and the Boxer, Boston bull terrier and Collie breeds were affected most commonly. The prevalence in Collies (five of 28 dogs) was unexpected but may have been coincidental in this size of sample. The chemoreceptor tumor was often of clinical significance because in two-thirds of the cases it was either the presenting complaint or considered at necropsy to have caused illness or death. ImagesFigure 1.Figure 2.Figure 3.Figure 4.Figure 5.Figure 6.Figure 7. PMID:6249479

Visual Impairment in White, Chinese, Black, and Hispanic Participants from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis Cohort.

PubMed

Fisher, Diana E; Shrager, Sandi; Shea, Steven J; Burke, Gregory L; Klein, Ronald; Wong, Tien Y; Klein, Barbara E; Cotch, Mary Frances

2015-01-01

To describe the prevalence of visual impairment and examine its association with demographic, socioeconomic, and health characteristics in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) cohort. Visual acuity data were obtained from 6134 participants, aged 46-87 years at time of examination between 2002 and 2004 (mean age 64 years, 47.6% male), from six communities in the United States. Visual impairment was defined as presenting visual acuity 20/50 or worse in the better-seeing eye. Risk factors were included in multivariable logistic regression models to determine their impact on visual impairment for men and women in each racial/ethnic group. Among all participants, 6.6% (n = 421) had visual impairment, including 5.6% of men (n = 178) and 7.5% of women (n = 243). Prevalence of impairment ranged from 4.2% (n = 52) and 6.0% (n = 77) in white men and women, respectively, to 7.6% (n = 37) and 11.6% (n = 44) in Chinese men and women, respectively. Older age was significantly associated with visual impairment in both men and women, particularly in those with lower socioeconomic status, but the effects of increasing age were more pronounced in men. Two-thirds of participants already wore distance correction, and not unexpectedly, a lower prevalence of visual impairment was seen in this group; however, 2.4% of men and 3.5% of women with current distance correction had correctable visual impairment, most notably among seniors. Even in the U.S. where prevalence of refractive correction is high, both visual impairment and uncorrected refractive error represent current public health challenges.

Visual Impairment in White, Chinese, Black and Hispanic Participants from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis Cohort

PubMed Central

Fisher, Diana E.; Shrager, Sandi; Shea, Steven J.; Burke, Gregory L.; Klein, Ronald; Wong, Tien Y.; Klein, Barbara E; Cotch, Mary Frances

2016-01-01

Purpose To describe the prevalence of visual impairment and examine its association with demographic, socioeconomic, and health characteristics in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) cohort. Methods Visual acuity data was obtained from 6134 participants, aged 46 to 87 years old at time of examination between 2002 and 2004 (mean age 64 years, 47.6% male), from six communities in the United States (U.S.). Visual impairment was defined as a presenting visual acuity of 20/50 or worse in the better-seeing eye. Risk factors were included in multivariable logistic regression models to determine their impact on visual impairment for men and women in each racial/ethnic group. Results Among all participants, 6.6% (N=421) had visual impairment, including 5.6% (N=178) of men and 7.5% (N=243) of women. Prevalence of impairment ranged from 4.2% (N=52) and 6.0% (N=77) in White men and women, respectively, to 7.6% (N=37) and 11.6% (N=44) in Chinese men and women, respectively. Older age was significantly associated with visual impairment in both men and women, particularly in those with lower socioeconomic status, but the effects of increasing age were more pronounced in men. Two-thirds of participants already wore distance correction and not unexpectedly, lower prevalence of visual impairment was seen in this group; however, 2.4% of men and 3.5% of women with current distance correction had correctable visual impairment, most notably among seniors. Conclusion Even in the United States where prevalence of refractive correction is high, both visual impairment and uncorrected refractive error represent current public health challenges. PMID:26395659

42 CFR 493.861 - Standard; Unexpected antibody detection.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 42 Public Health 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Standard; Unexpected antibody detection. 493.861 Section 493.861 Public Health CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN... for Laboratories Performing Tests of Moderate Complexity (including the Subcategory), High Complexity...

42 CFR 493.861 - Standard; Unexpected antibody detection.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 42 Public Health 5 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Standard; Unexpected antibody detection. 493.861 Section 493.861 Public Health CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN... for Laboratories Performing Tests of Moderate Complexity (including the Subcategory), High Complexity...

Patients with difficult intubation may need referral to sleep clinics.

PubMed

Chung, Frances; Yegneswaran, Balaji; Herrera, Francisco; Shenderey, Alex; Shapiro, Colin M

2008-09-01

Upper airway abnormalities carry the risk of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and difficult tracheal intubations. Both conditions contribute to significant clinical problems and have increased perioperative morbidity and mortality. We hypothesized that patients who presented with difficult intubation would have a very high prevalence of OSA and that those with unexpected difficult intubation may require referral to sleep clinics for polysomnography (PSG). Patients classified as a grade 4 Cormack and Lehane on direct laryngoscopic view, and who required more than two attempts for successful endotracheal intubation, were referred to the study by consultant anesthesiologists at four hospitals. Apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) data and postoperative events were collected. Patients with AHI >5/h were considered positive for OSA. Clinical and PSG variables were compared using t-tests and chi(2) test. Over a 20-mo period, 84 patients with a difficult intubation were referred into the study. Thirty-three patients agreed to participate. Sixty-six percent (22 of 33) had OSA (AHI >5/h). Of the 22 OSA patients, 10 patients (64%) had mild OSA (AHI 5-15), 6 (18%) had moderate OSA (AHI >15/h), and 6 (18%) had severe OSA (AHI >30/h). Of the 33 patients, 11 patients (33%) were recommended for continuous positive airway pressure treatment. Between the OSA group and the non-OSA group, there were significant differences in gender, neck size, and the quality of sleep, but there were no significant differences in age and body mass index. Sixty-six percent of patients with unexpected difficult intubation who consented to undergo a sleep study were diagnosed with OSA by PSG. Patients with difficult intubation are at high risk for OSA and should be screened for signs and symptoms of sleep apnea. Screening for OSA should be considered by referral to a sleep clinic for PSG.

Rate of Hanger Reflex Occurrence: Unexpected Head Rotation on Fronto-temporal Head Compression

PubMed Central

ASAHI, Takashi; SATO, Michi; KAJIMOTO, Hiroyuki; KOH, Masaki; KASHIWAZAKI, Daina; KURODA, Satoshi

When the head is encircled with a wire clothes hanger and the unilateral fronto-temporal region is compressed, the head rotates unexpectedly. As the mechanism is unclear, however, we have temporarily named this phenomenon as the “hanger reflex.” We previously reported a case wherein this phenomenon was applied to treat cervical dystonia. Because little is known about this phenomenon, we determined how often this phenomenon is observed in healthy subjects. Study participants were 120 healthy Japanese adults (60 men and 60 women) aged 19–65 years. A wire clothes hanger was applied to each subject’s head. The longer side of the hanger was attached over the volunteer’s fronto-temporal regions on both sides of the head in succession (i.e., two applications per volunteer). We evaluated whether the subjects felt the sensation of head rotation by using a questionnaire. The sensation of head rotation was observed in 95.8% of subjects. There were five non-responders (4.2%). In 85.4% of the trials, head rotation was observed in the direction that coincided with the side compressed by the hanger. There were no differences in responses between genders. The incident rate of the hanger reflex was remarkably high and most likely represents a prevalent phenomenon in humans. The mechanism underlying the reflex remains unknown. Further research should be performed to elucidate the underlying causes of the hanger reflex, which represents a potential treatment for cervical dystonia. PMID:26119894

Safety issues in didactic anatomical dissection in regions of high HIV prevalence.

PubMed

Prayer Galletti, Matteo; Bauer, Henry H

2009-01-01

Ruggiero et al. (2009) have recently reviewed the importance of dissection in the training of physicians, the role played by students' fears of infection, and the evidence that those sometimes extreme fears are unwarranted even respecting HIV and AIDS, whose dangers continue to be featured prominently in popular media as though everyone were at constant risk. It is not especially surprising that the risk of accidental infection by HIV is negligibly low in random dissections in Italy where, as in Europe generally, the prevalence of HIV is only a fraction of a percent. The question arises, however, what the risk might be in regions where the prevalence of HIV is considerably higher. South Africa is an obvious candidate for investigating this issue since the prevalence of HIV there is among the highest reported by UNAIDS and other official bodies. Furthermore, its recordkeeping system is more reliable than that of most other countries in sub-Saharan Africa, the global region that is universally regarded as the epicenter of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. In addition, South Africa has a globally recognized reputation in the teaching of human anatomy. Perhaps surprisingly, the risks in South Africa also seem to be much less than might be anticipated on the basis of the conventional wisdom. One reason for this counter-intuitive conclusion is that estimates of HIV prevalence and of AIDS deaths issued by international bodies are significantly overblown, with some estimates being 20 times or more greater than locally recorded numbers. A second basis for the unexpected conclusion is that the possibility of false-positive HIV tests has been ignored despite the considerable range of evidence that false-positives can be a significant part, perhaps even a major part, of positive tests in certain groups or certain regions, saliently among people of African ancestry.

Increased Prevalence of Diastolic Heart Failure in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis Correlates with Active Disease, but Not with Treatment Type.

PubMed

Schau, Thomas; Gottwald, Michael; Arbach, Olga; Seifert, Martin; Schöpp, Maren; Neuß, Michael; Butter, Christian; Zänker, Michael

2015-11-01

Although heart failure (HF) is a major cause of premature mortality, there is little information regarding its prevalence and associated risk factors in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). In this study, we evaluated the prevalence of HF in a community-based RA cohort. Further, we investigated the effect of RA activity and present treatment on HF rate and cardiac structure. A diagnostic workup for HF according to the European Society of Cardiology recommendations was performed in 157 patients with RA fulfilling the American College of Rheumatology/European League Against Rheumatism criteria (68% women, age 61 ± 13 yrs) from our outpatient clinic and in 77 age- and sex-matched controls. The prevalence of HF in patients with RA (24%) was unexpectedly high and differed significantly from the control sample (6%, p = 0.001). Diastolic HF was the dominant type (23% vs 6%), and clinical symptoms alone were of low diagnostic value. Active RA (28-joint Disease Activity Score ≥ 2.6: OR 3.4, 95% CI 1.3-9.8) was an independent risk factor of HF, as well as systemic inflammation (erythrocyte sedimentation rate > 16 mm/h: OR 5.4, 95% CI 2.1-16; C-reactive protein > 10 mg/l: OR 2.6, 95% CI 0.8-8.0) and RA duration > 10 years (OR 2.6, 95% CI 1.2-5.8). HF in RA was associated with concentric hypertrophy (48% vs 17%, p < 0.001) and reduced longitudinal strain (-17.2% vs -19.7%, p < 0.001). However, the prevalence of HF was equivalent between the treatment groups [conventional synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARD) 25%, tumor necrosis factor inhibitors 22%, other biological DMARD 27%]. Recognition of all diastolic HF in RA requires a complex diagnostic approach. Active rather than inactive RA places patients at a higher risk for HF, whereas influence of RA treatment on HF risk needs to be elucidated in further studies.

The importance of salivary cortisol in the diagnosis of adrenal insufficiency in cirrhosis.

PubMed

Araz, Filiz; Soydaş, Barış; Özer, Birol; Serin, Ender

2016-05-01

Reports on adrenal insufficiency (AI) are unexpectedly high in cirrhosis, and the diagnosis of this condition remains a challenge. We aimed to define the prevalence rate of AI in stable cirrhotic patients and determine the correlations of free cortisol and salivary cortisol with total cortisol. Between January 2011 and September 2011, 110 consecutive cirrhotic patients without any infection or hemodynamic instability were enrolled. Baseline total and salivary cortisol levels were measured. The free cortisol level was calculated according to the Coolens' formula. Post-stimulation total and salivary cortisol levels were measured, and the free cortisol level was recalculated. The mean age of the patients was 62.1±11.4 years. There were 54 males (49.1%). The mean Child-Turcotte-Pugh (CTP) score was 7.2±2.3. Twenty-two (20%) patients were at the CTP-C level. AI was present in 23 (20.9%) and 17 (15.5%) of all patients according to the total and free cortisol criteria, respectively. For basal and stimulated levels, salivary cortisol rather than total cortisol correlates well with free cortisol. The diagnosis of AI on the basis of total cortisol measurement overestimates the prevalence of AI in cirrhosis. Salivary cortisol, which correlates well with free cortisol, is a promising alternative for the diagnosis of AI in cirrhotic patients.

Occult atherosclerosis and physical vascular examination: a simple strategy to avoid inadequate cardiovascular prevention and under-use of diagnostic vascular guidelines in outpatients. A multicenter study by Angiology Care Units in North-Eastern Italy.

PubMed

Marzolo, M; Verlato, F; Zotta, L; Guadagnin, M L; Borgese, L; Cravatari, M; Nardi, M; Camporese, G; Andreozzi, G M

2008-10-01

Recent studies show a high prevalence of inadequate secondary prevention in a subset of the US population at highest risk for stroke and acute myocardial infarction. The present investigation evaluated subjects older than 50 years of age attending four Angiology Care Units in Northern Italy. The adequacy of risk factor (hypertension, body weight, cigarette smoking and hypercholesterolemia) control was in particular analyzed, and a search was made for occult atherosclerotic lesions during a thorough physical examination. Finally, adherence to diagnostic vascular guidelines was also evaluated. Twenty-two percent out of 483 patients enrolled in this study were found to have unexpected atherosclerotic lesions, 61.9% of the patients with a history of hypertension, 10.6% showed an inadequate control of blood pressure levels, 55% presented poor lipid control, 16.6% had not stopped smoking and 45.7% were overweight. The physical examination revealed that 13.8% of the patients had cervical bruits, 6.3% had aortic hyperpulsatility and 8.5% were lacking lower limb pulses, not previously diagnosed. It was found that in almost half of the participating patients diagnostic vascular guidelines were not being followed. This study shows a high prevalence of inadequate primary and secondary prevention and under-use of diagnostic vascular guidelines in the care of high-risk patients (older than 50 years with diabetes, smokers, etc.). Considerable efforts are required to effectively implement risk factor modification strategies and, with regard to Angiology Care Units, to correctly search for occult atherosclerotic lesions in high-risk patients.

[On the seasonality of dermatoses: a retrospective analysis of search engine query data depending on the season].

PubMed

Köhler, M J; Springer, S; Kaatz, M

2014-09-01

The volume of search engine queries about disease-relevant items reflects public interest and correlates with disease prevalence as proven by the example of flu (influenza). Other influences include media attention or holidays. The present work investigates if the seasonality of prevalence or symptom severity of dermatoses correlates with search engine query data. The relative weekly volume of dermatological relevant search terms was assessed by the online tool Google Trends for the years 2009-2013. For each item, the degree of seasonality was calculated via frequency analysis and a geometric approach. Many dermatoses show a marked seasonality, reflected by search engine query volumes. Unexpected seasonal variations of these queries suggest a previously unknown variability of the respective disease prevalence. Furthermore, using the example of allergic rhinitis, a close correlation of search engine query data with actual pollen count can be demonstrated. In many cases, search engine query data are appropriate to estimate seasonal variability in prevalence of common dermatoses. This finding may be useful for real-time analysis and formation of hypotheses concerning pathogenetic or symptom aggravating mechanisms and may thus contribute to improvement of diagnostics and prevention of skin diseases.

The costs (or benefits) associated with attended objects do little to influence inattentional blindness.

PubMed

Stothart, Cary R; Wright, Timothy J; Simons, Daniel J; Boot, Walter R

2017-02-01

We sometimes fail to notice unexpected objects or events when our attention is directed elsewhere, a phenomenon called inattentional blindness. We explored whether unexpected objects that shared the color of consequential objects would be noticed more often. In three pre-registered experiments, participants played a custom video game in which they avoided both low- and high-cost missiles (Experiment 1 and 2) or tried to hit rewarding missiles while avoiding costly ones (Experiment 3). After participants had played the game for about 8min, an unexpected object moved across the screen. Although participants selectively avoided more costly missiles when playing, they were no more likely to notice an unexpected object when its color was associated with greater costs. Apparently, people are no more likely to notice unexpected objects that are associated with negative consequences. Future research should examine whether objects that are themselves consequential are noticed more frequently. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The event-related potential effects of cognitive conflict in a Chinese character-generation task.

PubMed

Qiu, Jiang; Zhang, Qinglin; Li, Hong; Luo, Yuejia; Yin, Qinging; Chen, Antao; Yuan, Hong

2007-06-11

High-density event-related potentials were recorded to examine the electrophysiologic correlates of the evaluation of possible answers provided during a Chinese character-generation task. We examined three conditions: the character given was what participants initially generated (Consistent answer), the character given was correct (Unexpected Correct answer), or it was incorrect (Unexpected Incorrect answer). Results showed that Unexpected Correct and Incorrect answers elicited a more negative event-related potential deflection (N320) than did Consistent answers between 300 and 400 ms. Dipole source analysis of difference waves (Unexpected Correct or Incorrect minus Consistent answers) localized the generator of the N320 in the anterior cingulate cortex. The N320 therefore likely reflects the cognitive change or conflict between old and new ways of thinking while identifying and judging characters.

Super-Earths, Warm Neptunes, and Hot Jupiters: Transmission Spectroscopy for Comparative Planetology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fraine, Jonathan D.; Deming, Drake; Jordan, Andres; Knutson, Heather

2015-01-01

The detections and non-detections of molecular species in transiting planets-- such as water, methane, and carbon monoxide-- lead to greater understanding of planet formation and evolution. Recent significant advances in both theoretical and observational discoveries from planets like HD189733b, HD209458b, GJ436b, as well as our own work with HAT-P-11b and GJ1214b, have shown that the range of measurable atmospheric properties spans from clear, molecular absorption dominated worlds to opaque worlds, with cloudy, hazy, or high mean molecular weight atmospheres. Characterization of significant non-detections allowed us to infer the existence of opaque cloud layers at very high altitudes or mean molecular weights upwards of ~1000x solar. The prevalence of these atmospheres was unexpected from extrapolations of solar system analogs. I will present our published results from GJ1214b and HAT-P-11b, as well as our recent work using both Spitzer and Magellan. Our results, combined with transmission spectra obtained for other similar planets, connect to develop a better understanding about the nature of these distant and alien worlds

Biogenesis of the multifunctional lipid droplet: Lipids, proteins, and sites

PubMed Central

Gross, Steven P.

2014-01-01

Lipid droplets (LDs) are ubiquitous dynamic organelles that store and supply lipids in all eukaryotic and some prokaryotic cells for energy metabolism, membrane synthesis, and production of essential lipid-derived molecules. Interest in the organelle’s cell biology has exponentially increased over the last decade due to the link between LDs and prevalent human diseases and the discovery of new and unexpected functions of LDs. As a result, there has been significant recent progress toward understanding where and how LDs are formed, and the specific lipid pathways that coordinate LD biogenesis. PMID:24590170

Psychiatric Comorbidity of Full and Partial Posttraumatic Stress Disorder among Older Adults in the United States: Results from Wave 2 of the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions

PubMed Central

Pietrzak, Robert H.; Goldstein, Risë B.; Southwick, Steven M.; Grant, Bridget F.

2011-01-01

Objectives To present findings on the prevalence, correlates, and psychiatric comorbidity of DSM-IV posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and partial PTSD in a nationally representative sample of U.S. older adults. Design, Setting, and Participants Face-to-face interviews with 9,463 adults aged 60 years and older in the Wave 2 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions. Measurements Sociodemographic correlates, worst stressful experiences, comorbid lifetime mood, anxiety, substance use, and personality disorders, psychosocial functioning, and suicide attempts. Results Lifetime prevalences±standard errors of PTSD and partial PTSD were 4.5%±0.25 and 5.5%±0.27, respectively. Rates were higher in women (5.7%±0.37 and 6.5%±0.39) than men (3.1%±0.31 and 4.3%±0.37). Older adults with PTSD most frequently identified unexpected death of someone close, serious illness or injury to someone close, and own serious or life-threatening illness as their worst stressful events. Older adults exposed to trauma but without full or partial PTSD and respondents with partial PTSD most often identified unexpected death of someone close, serious illness or injury to someone close, and indirect experience of 9/11 as their worst events. PTSD was associated with elevated odds of lifetime mood, anxiety, drug use, and borderline and narcissistic personality disorders, and decreased psychosocial functioning. Partial PTSD was associated with elevated odds of mood, anxiety, and narcissistic and schizotypal personality disorders, and poorer psychosocial functioning relative to older adults exposed to trauma but without full or partial PTSD. Conclusions PTSD among older adults in the United States is slightly more prevalent than previously reported and associated with considerable psychiatric comorbidity and psychosocial dysfunction. Partial PTSD is associated with significant psychiatric comorbidity, particularly with mood and other anxiety disorders. PMID:22522959

Psychiatric comorbidity of full and partial posttraumatic stress disorder among older adults in the United States: results from wave 2 of the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions.

PubMed

Pietrzak, Robert H; Goldstein, Risë B; Southwick, Steven M; Grant, Bridget F

2012-05-01

To present findings on the prevalence, correlates, and psychiatric comorbidity of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and partial PTSD in a nationally representative sample of U.S. older adults. Face-to-face interviews with 9,463 adults age 60 years and older in the Wave 2 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions. Sociodemographic correlates; worst stressful experiences; comorbid lifetime mood, anxiety, substance use, and personality disorders; psychosocial functioning; and suicide attempts. Lifetime prevalences ± standard errors of PTSD and partial PTSD were 4.5% ± 0.25 and 5.5% ± 0.27, respectively. Rates were higher in women (5.7% ± 0.37 and 6.5% ± 0.39) than in men (3.1% ± 0.31 and 4.3% ± 0.37). Older adults with PTSD most frequently identified unexpected death of someone close, serious illness or injury to someone close, and their own serious or life-threatening illness as their worst stressful events. Older adults exposed to trauma but without full or partial PTSD and respondents with partial PTSD most often identified unexpected death of someone close, serious illness or injury to someone close, and indirect experience of 9/11 as their worst events. PTSD was associated with elevated odds of lifetime mood, anxiety, drug use, and borderline and narcissistic personality disorders and decreased psychosocial functioning. Partial PTSD was associated with elevated odds of mood, anxiety, and narcissistic and schizotypal personality disorders and poorer psychosocial functioning relative to older adults exposed to trauma but without full or partial PTSD. PTSD among older adults in the United States is slightly more prevalent than previously reported and is associated with considerable psychiatric comorbidity and psychosocial dysfunction. Partial PTSD is associated with significant psychiatric comorbidity, particularly with mood and other anxiety disorders.

Impaired fasting glucose and impaired glucose tolerance in children and adolescents with overweight/obesity.

PubMed

Di Bonito, P; Pacifico, L; Chiesa, C; Valerio, G; Miraglia Del Giudice, E; Maffeis, C; Morandi, A; Invitti, C; Licenziati, M R; Loche, S; Tornese, G; Franco, F; Manco, M; Baroni, M G

2017-04-01

To investigate in a large sample of overweight/obese (OW/OB) children and adolescents the prevalence of prediabetic phenotypes such as impaired fasting glucose (IFG) and impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), and to assess their association with cardiometabolic risk (CMR) factors including hepatic steatosis (HS). Population data were obtained from the CARdiometabolic risk factors in children and adolescents in ITALY study. Between 2003 and 2013, 3088 youths (972 children and 2116 adolescents) received oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) and were included in the study. In 798 individuals, abdominal ultrasound for identification of HS was available. The prevalence of IFG (3.2 vs. 3.3%) and IGT (4.6 vs. 5.0%) was similar between children and adolescents. Children with isolated IGT had a 2-11 fold increased risk of high LDL-C, non-HDL-C, Tg/HDL-C ratio, and low insulin sensitivity, when compared to those with normal glucose tolerance (NGT). No significant association of IFG with any CMR factor was found in children. Among adolescents, IGT subjects, and to a lesser extent those with IFG, showed a worse CMR profile compared to NGT subgroup. In the overall sample, IGT phenotype showed a twofold increased risk of HS compared to NGT subgroup. Our study shows an unexpected similar prevalence of IFG and IGT between children and adolescents with overweight/obesity. The IGT phenotype was associated with a worse CMR profile in both children and adolescents. Phenotyping prediabetes conditions by OGTT should be done as part of prediction and prevention of cardiometabolic diseases in OW/OB youth since early childhood.

Nickel-catalyzed hydrocarboxylation of ynamides with CO2 and H2O: observation of unexpected regioselectivity.

PubMed

Doi, Ryohei; Abdullah, Iman; Taniguchi, Takahisa; Saito, Nozomi; Sato, Yoshihiro

2017-07-06

We describe the nickel-catalyzed hydrocarboxylation of ynamides with CO 2 and H 2 O to afford a variety of α-amino-α,β-unsaturated esters with high regioselectivities. The selective α-carboxylation of ynamides with this catalytic protocol is unexpected in view of the electronic bias of ynamides and is in sharp contrast to our previous study in which a stoichiometric amount of Ni(0) was used to form a β-carboxylated product exclusively. We revealed that this unexpected C-C bond formation was induced by the combination of Zn and MgBr 2 .

Velocardiofacial syndrome in Mexican patients: Unusually high prevalence of congenital heart disease.

PubMed

Márquez-Ávila, Candy Sue; Vizcaíno-Alarcón, Alfredo; García-Delgado, Constanza; Núñez-Martínez, Paulina María; Flores-Ramírez, Francisco; Reyes-de la Rosa, Alejandra del Pilar; Mendelsberg-Fishbein, Paola; Ibarra-Grajeda, Diana; Medina-Bravo, Patricia; Balderrábano-Saucedo, Norma; Esteva-Solsona, Salvador; Márquez-Quiróz, Luz del Carmen; Flores-Cuevas, Arturo; Sánchez-Urbina, Rocío; Morales-Jiménez, Ariadna Berenice; Garibay-Nieto, Nayely; Del Bosque-Garza, Jesús; Pietropaolo-Cienfuegos, Dino; Gutiérrez-Camacho, Claudia; García-Morales, Leticia; Morán-Barroso, Verónica Fabiola

2015-11-01

Velocardiofacial syndrome (VCFS) is the most common microdeletion syndrome with an incidence of 1:4000 live births. Its phenotype is highly variable with facial, velopharyngeal, cardiac, endocrine, immunologic and psychiatric abnormalities. It is caused by a microdeletion in chromosome 22q11.2. We present 7 years of experience evaluating patients with VCFS regarding their main clinical characteristics. The patients included were multidisciplinary evaluated and had a positive FISH analysis for del22q11.2. A total of 62 patients were assessed, a 34 female/28 male ratio was observed with ages ranging from 9 days to 16 years, all but one patient had typical facial features. A diagnosis of congenital heart disease was established in 97% of the patients; other clinical characteristics were identified with different percentages such as cleft palate, and hypocalcaemia. Three cases had a familial presentation. While the clinical findings of this study were in general terms in keeping with the literature, it is interesting the unexpectedly high percentage of congenital heart disease identified in Mexican children with VCFS that also was the main cause for clinical referral. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Mutations in Splicing Factor Genes Are a Major Cause of Autosomal Dominant Retinitis Pigmentosa in Belgian Families

PubMed Central

Coppieters, Frauke; Roels, Dimitri; De Jaegere, Sarah; Flipts, Helena; De Zaeytijd, Julie; Walraedt, Sophie; Claes, Charlotte; Fransen, Erik; Van Camp, Guy; Depasse, Fanny; Casteels, Ingele; de Ravel, Thomy

2017-01-01

Purpose Autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa (adRP) is characterized by an extensive genetic heterogeneity, implicating 27 genes, which account for 50 to 70% of cases. Here 86 Belgian probands with possible adRP underwent genetic testing to unravel the molecular basis and to assess the contribution of the genes underlying their condition. Methods Mutation detection methods evolved over the past ten years, including mutation specific methods (APEX chip analysis), linkage analysis, gene panel analysis (Sanger sequencing, targeted next-generation sequencing or whole exome sequencing), high-resolution copy number screening (customized microarray-based comparative genomic hybridization). Identified variants were classified following American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) recommendations. Results Molecular genetic screening revealed mutations in 48/86 cases (56%). In total, 17 novel pathogenic mutations were identified: four missense mutations in RHO, five frameshift mutations in RP1, six mutations in genes encoding spliceosome components (SNRNP200, PRPF8, and PRPF31), one frameshift mutation in PRPH2, and one frameshift mutation in TOPORS. The proportion of RHO mutations in our cohort (14%) is higher than reported in a French adRP population (10.3%), but lower than reported elsewhere (16.5–30%). The prevalence of RP1 mutations (10.5%) is comparable to other populations (3.5%-10%). The mutation frequency in genes encoding splicing factors is unexpectedly high (altogether 19.8%), with PRPF31 the second most prevalent mutated gene (10.5%). PRPH2 mutations were found in 4.7% of the Belgian cohort. Two families (2.3%) have the recurrent NR2E3 mutation p.(Gly56Arg). The prevalence of the recurrent PROM1 mutation p.(Arg373Cys) was higher than anticipated (3.5%). Conclusions Overall, we identified mutations in 48 of 86 Belgian adRP cases (56%), with the highest prevalence in RHO (14%), RP1 (10.5%) and PRPF31 (10.5%). Finally, we expanded the molecular spectrum of PRPH2, PRPF8, RHO, RP1, SNRNP200, and TOPORS-associated adRP by the identification of 17 novel mutations. PMID:28076437

Schistosoma, other helminth infections, and associated risk factors in preschool-aged children in urban Tanzania

PubMed Central

Hella, Jerry; Knopp, Stefanie; Nassoro, Tatu; Shija, Neema; Aziz, Fatma; Mhimbira, Francis; Schindler, Christian; Mwingira, Upendo; Mandalakas, Anna M.; Manji, Karim; Tanner, Marcel; Utzinger, Jürg; Fenner, Lukas

2017-01-01

Background Despite the high prevalence of helminth infections among preschool-aged children, control programs in sub-Saharan countries primarily focus on school-aged populations. We assessed the prevalence of helminth infections and determined risk factors for infection among preschool-aged children in the urban setting of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Methodology Starting in October 2015, we conducted a 12-month prospective study among tuberculosis (TB)-exposed children under the age of 5 years and unexposed controls from neighboring households. At the time of recruitment, we collected medical histories, assessed development and cognitive functions, and performed medical examinations. We performed full blood cell counts and screened for HIV and malaria. Point-of-care circulating cathodic antigen (POC-CCA), urine filtration, Kato-Katz, FLOTAC, and Baermann tests were employed to detect helminth infections in urine and stool. Helminth infections were stratified for Schistosoma and other helminths to identify risk factors, using logistic regression. Principal findings We included 310 children with a median age of 26 months (inter quartile range 17–42 months) in the study. Among these, 189 were TB-exposed and 121 TB-unexposed. Two thirds of the children were anemic (hemoglobin level <11 g/dl) and the HIV prevalence was 1.3%. Schistosoma spp. was the predominant helminth species (15.8%; 95% confidence interval [CI] 12.1–20.3%). Other helminth infections were less frequent (9.0%, 95% CI 6.3–12.8%). Poor hygiene, use of household water sources, and TB-exposure were not associated with helminth infection. Development and cognitive scores did not significantly differ in helminth-infected and uninfected peers, but hemoglobin levels were significantly lower in helminth-infected children (10.1 g/dl vs. 10.4 g/dl, p = 0.027). Conclusions/significance In Dar es Salaam, a city with more than 4 million inhabitants, the prevalence of Schistosoma spp. infection among preschool-aged children was unexpectedly high. Setting-specific interventions that target preschool-aged children and urban settlements should be considered to reduce the transmission of Schistosoma and other helminth infections and to improve children’s health. PMID:29108003

High prevalence of asymptomatic malaria infections: a cross-sectional study in rural areas in six departments in Haiti.

PubMed

Elbadry, Maha A; Al-Khedery, Basima; Tagliamonte, Massimiliano S; Yowell, Charles A; Raccurt, Christian P; Existe, Alexandre; Boncy, Jacques; Weppelmann, Thomas A; Beau De Rochars, Valery E M; Lemoine, Jean F; Okech, Bernard A; Dame, John B

2015-12-21

Public health measures are poised for transition from malaria control to malaria elimination on the island of Hispaniola. Assessment of the reservoir of asymptomatic infections from which acute malaria cases may derive is critical to plan and evaluate elimination efforts. Current field technology is ill suited for detecting sub-microscopic infections, thus highly sensitive survey methods capable of detecting virtually all infections are needed. In this study the prevalence of infection with Plasmodium falciparum was determined in patients seeking medical care primarily for non-febrile conditions in six departments in Haiti using a newly designed qRT-PCR-based assay. Three different methods of parasite detection were compared to assess their utility in approximating the prevalence of P. falciparum infections in the population: malaria rapid diagnostic test (RDT) designed to detect histidine-rich protein 2 (HRP2), thick smear microscopy, and a quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) assay based upon the small sub-unit ribosomal RNA. The limit of detection of the qRT-PCR assay utilized was 0.0003 parasite/µL of blood. Venous blood was obtained from a total of 563 subjects from six departments in Haiti, all of whom were seeking medical attention without complaints consistent with malaria. Each subject was questioned for knowledge and behaviour using demographic and epidemiological survey to identify risk factors for disease transmission. Among the 563 samples tested, ten and 16 were found positive for malaria by RDT and microscopy, respectively. Using the qRT-PCR test to assess the infection status of these subjects, an additional 92 were identified for a total of 108. Based upon the qRT-PCR assay results, a wide variation in prevalence of infection in asymptomatic subjects was seen between geographic locations ranging from 4-41%. The prevalence of infection was highest in the Grand Anse, Nord and Sud-Est Departments, and demographic data from questionnaires provide evidence for focal disease transmission. The qRT-PCR assay is sufficiently sensitive to identify an unexpectedly large number of asymptomatic, submicroscopic infections. Identifying and clearing these infections presents a significant challenge to both control and elimination efforts, but the qRT-PCR assay offers a reliable method to identify them.

Predictive teratology: teratogenic risk-hazard identification partnered in the discovery process.

PubMed

Augustine-Rauch, K A

2008-11-01

Unexpected teratogenicity is ranked as one of the most prevalent causes for toxicity-related attrition of drug candidates. Without proactive assessment, the liability tends to be identified relatively late in drug development, following significant investment in compound and engagement in pre clinical and clinical studies. When unexpected teratogenicity occurs in pre-clinical development, three principle questions arise: Can clinical trials that include women of child bearing populations be initiated? Will all compounds in this pharmacological class produce the same liability? Could this effect be related to the chemical structure resulting in undesirable off-target adverse effects? The first question is typically addressed at the time of the unexpected finding and involves considering the nature of the teratogenicity, whether or not maternal toxicity could have had a role in onset, human exposure margins and therapeutic indication. The latter two questions can be addressed proactively, earlier in the discovery process as drug target profiling and lead compound optimization is taking place. Such proactive approaches include thorough assessment of the literature for identification of potential liabilities and follow-up work that can be conducted on the level of target expression and functional characterization using molecular biology and developmental model systems. Developmental model systems can also be applied in the form of in vitro teratogenicity screens, and show potential for effective hazard identification or issue resolution on the level of characterizing teratogenic mechanism. This review discusses approaches that can be applied for proactive assessment of compounds for teratogenic liability.

The prevalence of developmental dyscalculia in Brazilian public school system.

PubMed

Bastos, José Alexandre; Cecato, Angela Maria Traldi; Martins, Marielza Regina Ismael; Grecca, Kelly Regina Risso; Pierini, Rafael

2016-03-01

The goal of the study was to assess public school children at the end of the first stage of elementary school. We used a protocol applied concurrently with a writing test in the form of an unexpected activity in 28 public schools; 2,893 children assessed, 687 exhibited performance below 58 points, 184 were excluded due to change of address or lack of consent; 503 children subjected to a test of intellectual capacity and reading assessment and 71 considered intellectually disabled were excluded. 226 (7.8%) children, who could read, write, and had normal intellectual level, met the criteria of developmental dyscalculia (DD), 98 female and 128 male. The most influential factors in the prevalence were socioeconomic levels of the schools neighborhood, education level of parents, and being male, as demonstrated by the odds ratio and multiple logistic regression analysis. Further studies should be done so that educational policies are taken.

High prevalence of Sarcocystis calchasi sporocysts in European Accipiter hawks.

PubMed

Olias, Philipp; Olias, Lena; Krücken, Jürgen; Lierz, Michael; Gruber, Achim D

2011-02-10

The emerging Sarcocystis calchasi induces a severe and lethal central nervous disease in its intermediate host, the domestic pigeon (Columba livia f. domestica). Experimental studies have identified the Northern goshawk (Accipiter g. gentilis) as final host. Phylogenetically closely related European sparrowhawks (Accipiter n. nisus) and wood pigeons (Columba palumbus) have been found to harbor genetically closely related Sarcocystis spp. However, data on the prevalence and potential interspecies occurrence of these parasites are lacking. Here, we report that European Accipiter hawks (Accipitrinae) are highly infected with S. calchasi, S. columbae and Sarcocystis sp. ex A. nisus in their small intestine. Thirty-one of 50 (62%) Northern goshawks necropsied during 1997-2008 were positive for S. calchasi in a newly established species-specific semi-nested PCR assay based on the first internal transcribed spacer region. Unexpectedly, 14 of 20 (71.4%) European sparrowhawks tested also positive. In addition, birds of both species were found to be infested with S. columbae and an, as yet, unnamed Sarcocystis sp. recently isolated from European sparrowhawks. These findings raise new questions about the host specificity of S. calchasi and its high virulence in domestic pigeons, since sparrowhawks only rarely prey on pigeons. Notably, isolated sporocysts from both infected Accipiter spp. measured 8 μm × 11.9 μm, precluding a preliminary identification of S. calchasi in feces of Accipiter hawks based on morphology alone. Importantly, three of four Northern goshawks used in falconry tested positive for S. calchasi. In conclusion, the results indicate that both European Accipter spp. in Germany serve as natural final hosts of S. calchasi and suggest that falconry and pigeon sport may serve as risk factors for the spread of this pathogen in domestic pigeons. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2 syndromes (MEN 2): results from the ItaMEN network analysis on the prevalence of different genotypes and phenotypes.

PubMed

Romei, Cristina; Mariotti, Stefano; Fugazzola, Laura; Taccaliti, Augusto; Pacini, Furio; Opocher, Giuseppe; Mian, Caterina; Castellano, Maurizio; degli Uberti, Ettore; Ceccherini, Isabella; Cremonini, Nadia; Seregni, Ettore; Orlandi, Fabio; Ferolla, Piero; Puxeddu, Efisio; Giorgino, Francesco; Colao, Annamaria; Loli, Paola; Bondi, Fabio; Cosci, Barbara; Bottici, Valeria; Cappai, Antonello; Pinna, Giovanni; Persani, Luca; Verga, Uberta; Uberta, Verga; Boscaro, Marco; Castagna, Maria Grazia; Cappelli, Carlo; Zatelli, Maria Chiara; Faggiano, Antongiulio; Francia, Giuseppe; Brandi, Maria Luisa; Falchetti, Alberto; Pinchera, Aldo; Elisei, Rossella

2010-08-01

Multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2 (MEN 2) is a genetic disease characterized by medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) associated (MEN 2A and 2B) or not familial MTC (FMTC) with other endocrine neoplasia due to germline RET gene mutations. The prevalence of these rare genetic diseases and their corresponding RET mutations are unknown due to the small size of the study population. We collected data on germline RET mutations of 250 families with hereditary MTC followed in 20 different Italian centres. The most frequent RET amino acid substitution was Val804Met (19.6%) followed by Cys634Arg (13.6%). A total of 40 different germline RET mutations were present. Six families (2.4%) were negative for germline RET mutations. The comparison of the prevalence of RET germline mutations in the present study with those published by other European studies showed a higher prevalence of Val804Met and Ser891Ala mutations and a lower prevalence of Leu790Phe and Tyr791Phe (P<0.0001). A statistically significant higher prevalence of mutations affecting non-cysteine codons was also found (P<0.0001). Furthermore, the phenotype data collection showed an unexpected higher prevalence of FMTC (57.6%) with respect to other MEN 2 syndromes (34% MEN 2A and 6.8% of MEN 2B). In conclusion, we observed a statistically significant different pattern of RET mutations in Italian MEN 2 families with respect to other European studies and a higher prevalence of FMTC phenotype. The different ethnic origins of the patients and the particular attention given to analysing apparently sporadic MTC for RET germline mutations may explain these findings.

Cataplexy as a side effect of modafinil in a patient without narcolepsy☆

PubMed Central

Lopes, Eduardo; Pereira, Danielle; da Silva Behrens, Nilce Sanny Costa; de Almeida Fonseca, Hassana; Calvancanti, Paola Oliveira; de Araújo Lima, Taís Figueiredo; Pradella-Hallinan, Marcia; Castro, Juliana; Tufik, Sergio; Coelho, Fernando Morgadinho Santos

2014-01-01

Narcolepsy is a disease in which there is diurnal excessive sleepiness with sleep attacks and a prevalence in the general population of 1/4000 individuals. Classically, it is characterized by cataplexy, sleep paralysis, hypnagogic hallucinations and fragmented sleep. The use of modafinil in the treatment of narcolepsy is the first option of treatment for diurnal excessive sleepiness. Although considered a safe drug for use in patients with narcolepsy, being utilized for more than 20 years, modafinil possesses a series of side effects, some of them still not fully researched or described. Side effects such as headache, nausea, anxiety, insomnia, lumbago, diarrhea, dyspepsia, rhinitis and vertigo are the most frequent. However, the clinical follow-up of patients under treatment with modafinil must be intensive and the side effects ought to be noted and evaluated. The under-response to treatment or the unexpected side effects must always be directed to differential diagnostics. The objective of this article is to describe an unexpected side effect of the use of modafinil in a patient with incorrect diagnosis of narcolepsy. PMID:26483900

The role of domain expertise and judgment in dealing with unexpected events

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kochan, Janeen Adrion

Unexpected events, particularly those creating surprise, interrupt ongoing mental and behavioral processes, creating an increased potential for unwanted outcomes to the situation. Human reactions to unexpected events vary. One can hypothesize a number of reasons for this variation, including level of domain expertise, previous experience with similar events, emotional connotation, and the contextual surround of the event. Whereas interrupting ongoing activities and focusing attention temporarily on a surprising event may be a useful evolutionary response to a threatening situation, the same process may be maladaptive in today's highly dynamic world. The purpose of this study was to investigate how different aspects of expertise affected one's ability to detect and react to an unexpected event. It was hypothesized that there were two general types of expertise, domain expertise and judgment (Hammond, 2000), which influenced one's performance on dealing with an unexpected event. The goal of the research was to parse out the relative contribution of domain expertise, so the role of judgment could be revealed. The research questions for this study were: (a) Can we identify specific knowledges and skills which enhance one's ability to deal with unexpected events? (b) Are these skills "automatically" included in domain expertise? (c) How does domain expertise improve or deter one's reaction and response to unexpected events? (d) What role does judgment play in responding to surprise? The general hypothesis was that good judgment would influence the process of surprise at different stages and in different ways than would domain expertise. The conclusions from this research indicated that good judgment had a significant positive effect in helping pilots deal with unexpected events. This was most pronounced when domain expertise was low.

Insights Into Aspects Behind Internet-Related Disorders in Adolescents: The Interplay of Personality and Symptoms of Adjustment Disorders.

PubMed

Müller, Kai W; Wölfling, Klaus; Beutel, Manfred E; Stark, Birgit; Quiring, Oliver; Aufenanger, Stefan; Schemer, Christian; Weber, Mathias; Reinecke, Leonard

2018-02-01

Problematic Internet use (PIU) that has recently been referred to as Internet-related disorder is a growing health concern. Yet, it is unclear why some adolescents are developing problematic use, whereas others sustain control. Based on previous research, we hypothesize that personality traits (low conscientiousness and high neuroticism) act as predispositions for PIU. We further hypothesize that PIU can be understood as a maladaptive reaction toward critical life events and that these maladaptive reactions are exacerbated by dysfunctional personality traits. The study investigates the prevalence of distinct subtypes of PIU among a sample of adolescents (n = 1,489; 10-17 years). Personality traits (Big Five Inventory-10 [BFI-10]), perceived stress (Perceived Stress Scale 4 [PSS-4]), and their relations to PIU (Scale for the Assessment of Internet and Computer Game Addiction [AICA-S]) were examined. As novel research questions, associations between PIU and adjustment disorders (Adjustment Disorder-New Module [ADNM]-6) and the mediating role of personality were investigated. The prevalence of PIU was 2.5%; girls (3.0%) were more often affected than boys (1.9%). Social networking sites in girls and online games in boys were most often associated with PIU. Low conscientiousness and high neuroticism generally predicted PIU. Significantly more adolescents with PIU (70%) reported critical life events compared with those without PIU (42%). PIU was related to heightened stress and higher adjustment disorder symptoms. These associations were exacerbated by conscientiousness and neuroticism. Although the overall prevalence for PIU is in line with previous studies, it appeared unexpectedly that girls were affected more often than boys. Adjustment disorders and stress showed strong associations with PIU. This bears implications for adapting etiopathological assumptions and early intervention strategies. Copyright © 2017 The Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Estimating Oxygen Needs for Childhood Pneumonia in Developing Country Health Systems: A New Model for Expecting the Unexpected

PubMed Central

Bradley, Beverly D.; Howie, Stephen R. C.; Chan, Timothy C. Y.; Cheng, Yu-Ling

2014-01-01

Background Planning for the reliable and cost-effective supply of a health service commodity such as medical oxygen requires an understanding of the dynamic need or ‘demand’ for the commodity over time. In developing country health systems, however, collecting longitudinal clinical data for forecasting purposes is very difficult. Furthermore, approaches to estimating demand for supplies based on annual averages can underestimate demand some of the time by missing temporal variability. Methods A discrete event simulation model was developed to estimate variable demand for a health service commodity using the important example of medical oxygen for childhood pneumonia. The model is based on five key factors affecting oxygen demand: annual pneumonia admission rate, hypoxaemia prevalence, degree of seasonality, treatment duration, and oxygen flow rate. These parameters were varied over a wide range of values to generate simulation results for different settings. Total oxygen volume, peak patient load, and hours spent above average-based demand estimates were computed for both low and high seasons. Findings Oxygen demand estimates based on annual average values of demand factors can often severely underestimate actual demand. For scenarios with high hypoxaemia prevalence and degree of seasonality, demand can exceed average levels up to 68% of the time. Even for typical scenarios, demand may exceed three times the average level for several hours per day. Peak patient load is sensitive to hypoxaemia prevalence, whereas time spent at such peak loads is strongly influenced by degree of seasonality. Conclusion A theoretical study is presented whereby a simulation approach to estimating oxygen demand is used to better capture temporal variability compared to standard average-based approaches. This approach provides better grounds for health service planning, including decision-making around technologies for oxygen delivery. Beyond oxygen, this approach is widely applicable to other areas of resource and technology planning in developing country health systems. PMID:24587089

Social Support, Help-Seeking, and Mental Health Outcomes Among Veterans in Non-VA Facilities: Results from the Veterans’ Health Study

PubMed Central

Adams, Richard E.; Urosevich, Thomas G.; Hoffman, Stuart N.; Kirchner, H. Lester; Hyacinthe, Johanna C.; Figley, Charles R.; Boscarino, Joseph J.; Boscarino, Joseph A.

2017-01-01

Using a stress process model, the authors examined social and psychological resources to better understand mental health outcomes among veterans. For this study, we surveyed 700 U.S. veterans who were outpatients in the Geisinger Health System. Independent variables included demographic factors, stressful and traumatic events, social support measures, and psychosocial factors. Using logistic regression, the authors examined 4 types of social connections: social support, help-seeking support, social capital, and other mental health support to predict mental health outcomes, including posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, suicide ideation, alcohol misuse, mental health service use, and Veterans Affairs service use. Results suggested that help-seeking support since deployment was a risk factor for 5 adverse outcomes, whereas social support was protective for 1 outcome. We concluded that high levels of help-seeking support since deployment among veterans was associated with a higher prevalence of mental health problems. These findings were unexpected and suggest the need for additional social support-related research among veterans. PMID:29098116

Adaptive tuning of mutation rates allows fast response to lethal stress in Escherichia coli

PubMed Central

Swings, Toon; Van den Bergh, Bram; Wuyts, Sander; Oeyen, Eline; Voordeckers, Karin; Verstrepen, Kevin J; Fauvart, Maarten; Verstraeten, Natalie; Michiels, Jan

2017-01-01

While specific mutations allow organisms to adapt to stressful environments, most changes in an organism's DNA negatively impact fitness. The mutation rate is therefore strictly regulated and often considered a slowly-evolving parameter. In contrast, we demonstrate an unexpected flexibility in cellular mutation rates as a response to changes in selective pressure. We show that hypermutation independently evolves when different Escherichia coli cultures adapt to high ethanol stress. Furthermore, hypermutator states are transitory and repeatedly alternate with decreases in mutation rate. Specifically, population mutation rates rise when cells experience higher stress and decline again once cells are adapted. Interestingly, we identified cellular mortality as the major force driving the quick evolution of mutation rates. Together, these findings show how organisms balance robustness and evolvability and help explain the prevalence of hypermutation in various settings, ranging from emergence of antibiotic resistance in microbes to cancer relapses upon chemotherapy. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.22939.001 PMID:28460660

Diabetes and associated disorders in Cambodia: two epidemiological surveys.

PubMed

King, Hilary; Keuky, Lim; Seng, Serey; Khun, Touch; Roglic, Gojka; Pinget, Michel

2005-11-05

The Asia-Pacific region is thought to be severely affected by diabetes. However, reliable, standardised data on prevalence and characteristics of glucose intolerance in Asian populations remain sparse. We describe the results of two field surveys undertaken in Cambodia in 2004. 2246 randomly selected adults aged 25 years and older were examined in two communities, one rural (Siemreap) and one semi-urban (Kampong Cham). The diagnosis of diabetes and impaired glucose tolerance was based on 2-h blood glucose estimation using criteria recommended by the latest report of a WHO Expert Group. Blood pressure, anthropometry, habitual diet, and other relevant characteristics were also recorded. Prevalence of diabetes was 5% in Siemreap and 11% in Kampong Cham. Prevalence of impaired glucose tolerance was 10% in Siemreap and 15% in Kampong Cham. About two-thirds of all cases of diabetes were undiagnosed before the survey. Prevalence of hypertension was 12% at Siemreap and 25% at Kampong Cham. People in Kampong Cham had higher estimates of central obesity than those in Siemreap. Diabetes and hypertension are not uncommon in Cambodia. A quarter of all adults in the chosen suburban community had some degree of glucose intolerance. Since Cambodian society is relatively poor, and lifestyle is fairly traditional by international standards, these findings are unexpected.

The role of high-frequency oscillatory activity in reward processing and learning.

PubMed

Marco-Pallarés, Josep; Münte, Thomas F; Rodríguez-Fornells, Antoni

2015-02-01

Oscillatory activity has been proposed as a key mechanism in the integration of brain activity of distant structures. Particularly, high frequency brain oscillatory activity in the beta and gamma range has received increasing interest in the domains of attention and memory. In addition, a number of recent studies have revealed an increase of beta-gamma activity (20-35 Hz) after unexpected or relevant positive reward outcomes. In the present manuscript we review the literature on this phenomenon and we propose that this activity is a brain signature elicited by unexpected positive outcomes in order to transmit a fast motivational value signal to the reward network. In addition, we hypothesize that beta-gamma oscillatory activity indexes the interaction between attentional and emotional systems, and that it directly reflects the appearance of unexpected positive rewards in learning-related contexts. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Unexpected disappearance of portal cavernoma on long-term anticoagulation.

PubMed

Silva-Junior, Gilberto; Turon, Fanny; Hernandez-Gea, Virginia; Darnell, Anna; García-Criado, Ángeles; García-Pagán, Juan Carlos

2014-08-01

Idiopathic non-cirrhotic portal hypertension is a rare disease of unknown etiology. Patients with idiopathic non-cirrhotic portal hypertension have an increased risk of developing portal vein thrombosis and this is especially prevalent when HIV is also present. We describe a unique case of a patient with idiopathic non-cirrhotic portal hypertension associated to HIV, who developed acute portal vein thrombosis that despite anticoagulation transformed in portal cavernoma and disappeared completely after five years of follow-up on continuous anticoagulation. Copyright © 2014 European Association for the Study of the Liver. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Paediatric homoeopathy in Germany: results of the German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Children and Adolescents (KiGGS).

PubMed

Du, Yong; Knopf, Hildtraud

2009-05-01

Despite growing pressure against homoeopathy, an unexpected resurgence in the use of homoeopathy has been reported. It is of interest to examine the use of homoeopathy and user profiles among children in Germany. Last-week homoeopathy use was recorded among 17,450 children aged 0-17 years who participated in the 2003-2006 German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Children and Adolescents (KiGGS). The complex sample method was used to estimate the prevalence of, and factors associated with, homoeopathy use. Nine hundred and fifty-one homoeopathic preparations were used by 718 children (weighted prevalence 4.6%). Nearly half of the homoeopathic preparations were obtained by prescriptions from medical doctors or Heilpraktiker (non-medical practitioners) and used most often to treat certain self-limiting conditions. About 60% of homoeopathy users concomitantly received conventional medicines. Homoeopathy use was closely related to socioeconomic factors, with a significantly higher prevalence rate found in the 0-6 year age group [prevalence 6.2%, odds ratio 2.2, 95% confidence intervals (CIs) 1.7-2.9], among children residing in the former West Germany [5.1%, 2.2(1.5-3.2)] or the south of Germany [6.6%, 1.7(1.3-2.4)], among children with a poor health status [6.8%, 3.0(2.2-4.2)], with no immigration background [5.3%, 3.7(2.2-6.1)], who received breast-feeding >6 months [7.6%, 2.1(1.6-2.9)], were from upper social-class families [7.4%, 1.8(1.1-2.8)] and whose children's mothers were college educated [7.2%, 1.6(1.2-2.2)]. Paediatric homoeopathy is quite popular in Germany, particularly among children from families with a higher socioeconomic status. The high level of paediatric homoeopathy use in Germany warrants a critical review to determine whether it is evidence based and cost-effective.

Testicular oocytes in smallmouth bass in northeastern Minnesota in relation to varying levels of human activity.

PubMed

Kadlec, Sarah M; Johnson, Rodney D; Mount, David R; Olker, Jennifer H; Borkholder, Brian D; Schoff, Patrick K

2017-12-01

Testicular oocytes (TOs) have been found in black bass (Micropterus spp.) from many locations in North America. The presence of TOs is often assumed to imply exposure to estrogenic endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs); however, a definitive causal relationship has yet to be established, and TO prevalence is not consistently low in fish from areas lacking evident EDC sources. This might indicate any of a number of situations: 1) unknown or unidentified EDCs or EDC sources, 2) induction of TOs by other stressors, or 3) testicular oocytes occurring spontaneously during normal development. In the present study, we analyzed TO occurrence in smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) from 8 populations in northeastern Minnesota watersheds with differing degrees of human development and, hence, presumed likelihood of exposure to anthropogenic chemicals. Three watersheds were categorized as moderately developed, based on the presence of municipal wastewater discharges and higher human population density (4-81 per km 2 ), and 5 watersheds were minimally developed, with very low human population density (0-1 per km 2 ) and minimal built environment. Testicular tissues from mature fish were evaluated using a semiquantitative method that estimated TO density, normalized by cross-sectional area. Testicular oocyte prevalence and density among populations from moderately developed watersheds was higher than in populations from minimally developed watersheds. However, TO prevalence was unexpectedly high and variable (7-43%) in some populations from minimally developed watersheds, and only weak evidence was found for a relationship between TO density and watershed development, suggesting alternative or more complex explanations for TO presence in smallmouth bass from this region. Environ Toxicol Chem 2017;36:3424-3435. © 2017 SETAC. © 2017 SETAC.

Natural foci of Borrelia lusitaniae in a mountain region of Central Europe.

PubMed

Tarageľová, Veronika Rusňáková; Mahríková, Lenka; Selyemová, Diana; Václav, Radovan; Derdáková, Markéta

2016-03-01

Lyme borreliosis is the most prevalent tick-borne disease in Europe. It is caused by spirochaetes of the Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (s.l.) complex and transmitted to humans by ticks of the genus Ixodes. Borrelia afzelii, Borrelia garinii, and Borrelia valaisiana are the most common genospecies in Central Europe. In contrast, Borrelia lusitaniae predominates in Mediterranean countries such as Portugal, Morocco, and Tunisia. In Slovakia, its prevalence is low and restricted to only a few sites. The aim of our research was to study the expansion of ticks into higher altitudes in the ecosystem of the Malá Fatra mountains (north Slovakia) and their infection with B. burgdorferi s.l. pathogens. Questing ticks were collected by flagging in seven years (2004, 2006-2011) at three different altitudes: low (630-660 m above sea level (ASL)), intermediate (720-750 m ASL), and high (1040-1070 m ASL). Tick abundance was highest at the lowest altitude and lowest at the highest altitude. The average infection prevalence of B. burgdorferi s.l. in nymphs and adults was 16.8% and 36.2%, respectively. The number of infected ticks decreased from 38.5% at the lowest altitude to 4.4% at the highest altitude. B. lusitaniae was the most frequently found genospecies (>60% of the ticks found positive for B. burgdorferi s.l.) in all sites in all the studied years with the exception of 2008 when B. afzelii predominated (62%). Our study confirms the spread of Ixodes ricinus ticks to higher altitudes in Slovakia. The discovery that our mountain study sites were a natural foci of B. lusitaniae was unexpected because this genospecies is usually associated with lizards and xerothermic habitats. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Attentional gain and processing capacity limits predict the propensity to neglect unexpected visual stimuli.

PubMed

Papera, Massimiliano; Richards, Anne

2016-05-01

Exogenous allocation of attentional resources allows the visual system to encode and maintain representations of stimuli in visual working memory (VWM). However, limits in the processing capacity to allocate resources can prevent unexpected visual stimuli from gaining access to VWM and thereby to consciousness. Using a novel approach to create unbiased stimuli of increasing saliency, we investigated visual processing during a visual search task in individuals who show a high or low propensity to neglect unexpected stimuli. When propensity to inattention is high, ERP recordings show a diminished amplification concomitantly with a decrease in theta band power during the N1 latency, followed by a poor target enhancement during the N2 latency. Furthermore, a later modulation in the P3 latency was also found in individuals showing propensity to visual neglect, suggesting that more effort is required for conscious maintenance of visual information in VWM. Effects during early stages of processing (N80 and P1) were also observed suggesting that sensitivity to contrasts and medium-to-high spatial frequencies may be modulated by low-level saliency (albeit no statistical group differences were found). In accordance with the Global Workplace Model, our data indicate that a lack of resources in low-level processors and visual attention may be responsible for the failure to "ignite" a state of high-level activity spread across several brain areas that is necessary for stimuli to access awareness. These findings may aid in the development of diagnostic tests and intervention to detect/reduce inattention propensity to visual neglect of unexpected stimuli. © 2016 Society for Psychophysiological Research.

[Investigation of the causes of infant sudden unexpected death in children younger than one year in Bariloche city and surrounding areas].

PubMed

Gil, Leonardo; Herbón, Fabiana; Little, Andrés; López, Mónica; Martínez, Lucía; Cancilliere, María del Carmen

2008-12-01

In the beginning of 2002 there were an unusually high number of sudden unexpected infant deaths. A prospective study was started to determine the cause of unexpected deaths in infants younger than 1 year. Investigate the possible causes of sudden and unexpected death in infants of Bariloche and surrounding areas, using a protocol created for that purpose. All infants under 1 year of age who died unexpectedly between May 2002 and April 2007 were studied. A complete physical examination, a thorough interrogation to the parents and an autopsy were performed. According to the findings a definitive diagnosis was made on each case. During the study period 10 infants younger than 1 year died. One case was excluded because the autopsy could not be done. The mean age was 74 days, 6 were males. All died while sleeping and no sign of disease were noticed in any case. In 6 cases, the autopsy findings explained the death. In the 3 others no cause for the death was found. The implementation of this protocol allowed to find out the cause of death in 6 cases, that could not have been achieved without the autopsy.

[Development of the unexpected reality scale for childcare training].

PubMed

Matsuda, Yuko; Shitara, Saeko; Hamada, Shoko

2016-10-01

This study aimed to develop a scale for unexpected reality for childcare training (Study 1) and examine the change and influence it exerts on the efficacy of preschool teachers (Study 2). In Study 1, the sample consisted of 571 university and junior college students enrolled in a childcare course. After exploratory factor analysis, four factors were extracted: “actual feelings for childcare as a field of study,” “difficulties faced during involvement with children,” “negative aspects of the childcare worker,” and “severity of work.” The study’s scale was shown to be internally consistent and valid. In Study 2, the sample consisted of 122 junior college students enrolled in a childcare course. The results showed that the high-scoring groups of each unexpected reality subscales experienced less unexpected reality in the subsequent training session. Moreover, the results of multiple regression showed that preschool teacher efficacy was predicted positively by “actual feelings for childcare as a field of study” and negatively by “difficulties faced during involvement with children.” Thus, we suggest that for effective pre- and post-guidance of childcare training, unexpected realities should be considered.

A Step Toward High Reliability: Implementation of a Daily Safety Brief in a Children's Hospital.

PubMed

Saysana, Michele; McCaskey, Marjorie; Cox, Elaine; Thompson, Rachel; Tuttle, Lora K; Haut, Paul R

2017-09-01

Health care is a high-risk industry. To improve communication about daily events and begin the journey toward a high reliability organization, the Riley Hospital for Children at Indiana University Health implemented a daily safety brief. Various departments in our children's hospital were asked to participate in a daily safety brief, reporting daily events and unexpected outcomes within their scope of responsibility. Participants were surveyed before and after implementation of the safety brief about communication and awareness of events in the hospital. The length of the brief and percentage of departments reporting unexpected outcomes were measured. The analysis of the presurvey and the postsurvey showed a statistically significant improvement in the questions related to the awareness of daily events as well as communication and relationships between departments. The monthly mean length of time for the brief was 15 minutes or less. Unexpected outcomes were reported by 50% of the departments for 8 months. A daily safety brief can be successfully implemented in a children's hospital. Communication between departments and awareness of daily events were improved. Implementation of a daily safety brief is a step toward becoming a high reliability organization.

Protected areas mitigate diseases of reef-building corals by reducing damage from fishing.

PubMed

Lamb, Joleah B; Williamson, David H; Russ, Garry R; Willis, Bette L

2015-09-01

Parks and protected areas have been instrumental in reducing anthropogenic sources of damage in terrestrial and aquatic environments. Pathogen invasion often succeeds physical wounding and injury, yet links between the reduction of damage and the moderation of disease have not been assessed. Here, we examine the utility of no-take marine reserves as tools for mitigating diseases that affect reef-building corals. We found that sites located within reserves had fourfold reductions in coral disease prevalence compared to non-reserve sites (80466 corals surveyed). Of 31 explanatory variables assessed, coral damage and the abundance of derelict fishing line best explained differences in disease assemblages between reserves and non-reserves. Unexpectedly, we recorded significantly higher levels of disease, coral damage, and derelict fishing line in non-reserves with fishing gear restrictions than in those without gear restrictions. Fishers targeting stocks perceived to be less depleted, coupled with enhanced site access from immediately adjacent boat moorings, may explain these unexpected patterns. Significant correlations between the distance from mooring sites and prevalence values for a ciliate disease known to infest wounded tissue (r = -0.65), coral damage (r = -0.64), and the abundance of derelict fishing line (r = -0.85) corroborate this interpretation. This is the first study to link disease with recreational use intensity in a park, emphasizing the need to evaluate the placement of closures and their direct relationship to ecosystem health. Since corals are modular, ecological processes that govern reproductive and competitive fitness are frequently related to colony surface area therefore, even low levels of cumulative tissue loss from progressing diseases pose significant threats to reef coral persistence. Disease mitigation through reductions in physical injury in areas where human activities are concentrated is another mechanism by which protected areas may improve ecosystem resilience in a changing climate.

Is adult ADHD a childhood-onset neurodevelopmental disorder? Evidence from a 4-decade longitudinal cohort study

PubMed Central

Moffitt, Terrie E.; Houts, Renate; Asherson, Philip; Belsky, Daniel W; Corcoran, David L; Hammerle, Maggie; Harrington, Honalee; Hogan, Sean; Meier, Madeline; Polanczyk, Guilherme V.; Poulton, Richie; Ramrakha, Sandhya; Sugden, Karen; Williams, Benjamin; Rohde, Luis Augusto; Caspi, Avshalom

2015-01-01

Objective Despite a prevailing assumption that adult ADHD is a childhood-onset neurodevelopmental disorder, no prospective-longitudinal study has described the childhoods of the adult-ADHD population. We report follow-back analyses of ADHD cases diagnosed in adulthood, alongside follow-forward analyses of ADHD cases diagnosed in childhood, in one cohort. Method Participants belonged to a representative birth cohort of 1,037 individuals born in Dunedin, New Zealand in 1972-73 and followed to age 38, with 95% retention. Symptoms of ADHD, associated clinical features, comorbid disorders, neuropsychological deficits, GWAS-derived polygenic risk, and life impairment indicators were assessed. Data sources were participants, parents, teachers, informants, neuropsychological testing, and administrative records. Adult ADHD diagnoses used DSM5 criteria, apart from onset-age and cross-setting corroboration, which were study outcomes. Results As expected, the childhood-ADHD group showed 6% prevalence, male excess, childhood comorbid disorders, neurocognitive deficits, polygenic risk, and, despite having outgrown their ADHD diagnosis, residual adult life impairment. As expected, the adult-ADHD group showed 3% prevalence, gender balance, adult substance dependence, adult life impairment, and treatment contact. Unexpectedly, the childhood-ADHD and adult-ADHD groups comprised virtually non-overlapping sets; 90% of adult-ADHD cases lacked a history of childhood ADHD. Also unexpectedly, the adult-ADHD group did not show tested neuropsychological deficits in childhood or adulthood, nor did they show polygenic risk for childhood ADHD. Conclusion Findings raise the possibility that adults presenting with the ADHD symptom picture may not have a childhood-onset neurodevelopmental disorder. If this finding is replicated, then the disorder's place in the classification system must be reconsidered, and research must investigate the etiology of adult ADHD. PMID:25998281

Accurate, high-throughput typing of copy number variation using paralogue ratios from dispersed repeats

PubMed Central

Armour, John A. L.; Palla, Raquel; Zeeuwen, Patrick L. J. M.; den Heijer, Martin; Schalkwijk, Joost; Hollox, Edward J.

2007-01-01

Recent work has demonstrated an unexpected prevalence of copy number variation in the human genome, and has highlighted the part this variation may play in predisposition to common phenotypes. Some important genes vary in number over a high range (e.g. DEFB4, which commonly varies between two and seven copies), and have posed formidable technical challenges for accurate copy number typing, so that there are no simple, cheap, high-throughput approaches suitable for large-scale screening. We have developed a simple comparative PCR method based on dispersed repeat sequences, using a single pair of precisely designed primers to amplify products simultaneously from both test and reference loci, which are subsequently distinguished and quantified via internal sequence differences. We have validated the method for the measurement of copy number at DEFB4 by comparison of results from >800 DNA samples with copy number measurements by MAPH/REDVR, MLPA and array-CGH. The new Paralogue Ratio Test (PRT) method can require as little as 10 ng genomic DNA, appears to be comparable in accuracy to the other methods, and for the first time provides a rapid, simple and inexpensive method for copy number analysis, suitable for application to typing thousands of samples in large case-control association studies. PMID:17175532

Echinococcus granulosus in Portugal: the first report of the G7 genotype in cattle.

PubMed

Beato, Sílvia; Parreira, Ricardo; Roque, Cláudio; Gonçalves, Matilde; Silva, Liliana; Maurelli, Maria Paola; Cringoli, Giuseppe; Grácio, Maria Amélia

2013-11-15

Although cystic echinococcosis (CE) has been a recognized public health problem in Portugal, molecular data regarding the types and prevalence of infecting strains of its etiological agent (Echinococcus granulosus) are still scarce. Over the last years we have been evaluating the prevalence of CE in the country, and in this report we determined the parasite genotypes infecting sheep, goats, cattle and human in Portugal, based on 209 hydatid cysts recovered from liver (n=96), lung (n=95), pancreas (n=17) and kidney (n=1) samples obtained between 2008 and 2011. Protoscoleces or germinal layers were collected from individual cysts, DNA was extracted, and a part of the mitochondrial DNA encoding the cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 was amplified by PCR. Overall, the results confirm the overall dominance of the G1-G3 cluster of strains, which are particularly prevalent in southern Portugal in livestock ruminants. Unexpectedly, one parasite sequence with cattle origin was found to correspond to E. granulosus G7 genotype (also known as E. intermedius), here reported for the first time in bovine, in Portugal. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Unexpected Variation in Neuroanatomy among Diverse Nematode Species

PubMed Central

Han, Ziduan; Boas, Stephanie; Schroeder, Nathan E.

2016-01-01

Nematodes are considered excellent models for understanding fundamental aspects of neuron function. However, nematodes are less frequently used as models for examining the evolution of nervous systems. While the habitats and behaviors of nematodes are diverse, the neuroanatomy of nematodes is often considered highly conserved. A small number of nematode species greatly influences our understanding of nematode neurobiology. The free-living species Caenorhabditis elegans and, to a lesser extent, the mammalian gastrointestinal parasite Ascaris suum are, historically, the primary sources of knowledge regarding nematode neurobiology. Despite differences in size and habitat, C. elegans and A. suum share a surprisingly similar neuroanatomy. Here, we examined species across several clades in the phylum Nematoda and show that there is a surprising degree of neuroanatomical variation both within and among nematode clades when compared to C. elegans and Ascaris. We found variation in the numbers of neurons in the ventral nerve cord and dye-filling pattern of sensory neurons. For example, we found that Pristionchus pacificus, a bacterial feeding species used for comparative developmental research had 20% fewer ventral cord neurons compared to C. elegans. Steinernema carpocapsae, an insect-parasitic nematode capable of jumping behavior, had 40% more ventral cord neurons than C. elegans. Interestingly, the non-jumping congeneric nematode, S. glaseri showed an identical number of ventral cord neurons as S. carpocapsae. There was also variability in the timing of neurodevelopment of the ventral cord with two of five species that hatch as second-stage juveniles showing delayed neurodevelopment. We also found unexpected variation in the dye-filling of sensory neurons among examined species. Again, sensory neuron dye-filling pattern did not strictly correlate with phylogeny. Our results demonstrate that variation in nematode neuroanatomy is more prevalent than previously assumed and recommend this diverse phylum for future “evo-devo-neuro” studies. PMID:26778973

Loss of Oncogenic Notch1 with Resistance to a PI3K Inhibitor in T Cell Leukaemia

PubMed Central

Dail, Monique; Wong, Jason; Lawrence, Jessica; O’Connor, Daniel; Nakitandwe, Joy; Chen, Shann-Ching; Xu, Jin; Lee, Leslie B; Akagi, Keiko; Li, Qing; Aster, Jon C.; Pear, Warren S.; Downing, James R; Sampath, Deepak; Shannon, Kevin

2014-01-01

Mutations that deregulate Notch1 and Ras/PI3 kinase/Akt signalling are prevalent in T lineage acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (T-ALL), and often coexist. The PI3 kinase inhibitor GDC-0941 was active against primary T-ALLs from wild-type and KrasG12D mice and addition of the MEK inhibitor PD0325901 increased efficacy. Mice invariably relapsed after treatment with drug resistant clones, most of which unexpectedly had reduced levels of activated Notch1 protein, down-regulated many Notch1 target genes, and exhibited cross-resistance to γ secretase inhibitors. Multiple resistant primary T-ALLs that emerged in vivo did not contain somatic Notch1 mutations present in the parental leukaemia. Importantly, resistant clones up-regulated PI3K signalling. Consistent with these data, inhibiting Notch1 activated the PI3K pathway, providing a likely mechanism for selection against oncogenic Notch1 signalling. These studies validate PI3K as a therapeutic target in T-ALL and raise the unexpected possibility that dual inhibition of PI3K and Notch1 signalling could facilitate drug resistance in T-ALL. PMID:25043004

Loss of oncogenic Notch1 with resistance to a PI3K inhibitor in T-cell leukaemia.

PubMed

Dail, Monique; Wong, Jason; Lawrence, Jessica; O'Connor, Daniel; Nakitandwe, Joy; Chen, Shann-Ching; Xu, Jin; Lee, Leslie B; Akagi, Keiko; Li, Qing; Aster, Jon C; Pear, Warren S; Downing, James R; Sampath, Deepak; Shannon, Kevin

2014-09-25

Mutations that deregulate Notch1 and Ras/phosphoinositide 3 kinase (PI3K)/Akt signalling are prevalent in T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (T-ALL), and often coexist. Here we show that the PI3K inhibitor GDC-0941 is active against primary T-ALLs from wild-type and Kras(G12D) mice, and addition of the MEK inhibitor PD0325901 increases its efficacy. Mice invariably relapsed after treatment with drug-resistant clones, most of which unexpectedly had reduced levels of activated Notch1 protein, downregulated many Notch1 target genes, and exhibited cross-resistance to γ-secretase inhibitors. Multiple resistant primary T-ALLs that emerged in vivo did not contain somatic Notch1 mutations present in the parental leukaemia. Importantly, resistant clones upregulated PI3K signalling. Consistent with these data, inhibiting Notch1 activated the PI3K pathway, providing a likely mechanism for selection against oncogenic Notch1 signalling. These studies validate PI3K as a therapeutic target in T-ALL and raise the unexpected possibility that dual inhibition of PI3K and Notch1 signalling could promote drug resistance in T-ALL.

Associations of chronic stress burden, perceived stress, and traumatic stress with cardiovascular disease prevalence and risk factors in the HCHS/SOL Sociocultural Ancillary Study

PubMed Central

Gallo, Linda C.; Roesch, Scott C.; Fortmann, Addie L.; Carnethon, Mercedes R.; Penedo, Frank J.; Perreira, Krista; Birnbaum-Weitzman, Orit; Wassertheil-Smoller, Sylvia; Castañeda, Sheila F.; Talavera, Gregory A.; Sotres-Alvarez, Daniela; Daviglus, Martha L.; Schneiderman, Neil; Isasi, Carmen R.

2015-01-01

Objective The current study examined multiple stress indicators (chronic, perceived, traumatic) in relation to prevalent coronary heart disease (CHD), stroke, and major cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors (i.e., diabetes, dyslipidemia, hypertension, current smoking) in the multi-site Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL) Sociocultural Ancillary Study (2010–2011). Methods Participants were 5313 men and women, 18–74 years old, representing diverse Hispanic/Latino ethnic backgrounds, who underwent a comprehensive baseline clinical exam and sociocultural exam with measures of stress. Results Chronic stress burden was related to a higher prevalence of CHD after adjusting for sociodemographic, behavioral and biological risk factors [OR (95% CI) = 1.22, (1.10–1.36)] and related to stroke prevalence in the model adjusted for demographic and behavioral factors [OR (95% CI) = 1.26, (1.03–1.55∂)]. Chronic stress was also related to a higher prevalence of diabetes [OR=1.20, (1.11–1.31)] and hypertension [OR=1.10 (1.02–1.19)] in individuals free from CVD (N=4926). Perceived stress [OR=1.03 (1.01–1.05)] and traumatic stress [OR=1.15 (1.05–1.26)] were associated with a higher prevalence of smoking. Participants who reported a greater number of lifetime traumatic events also unexpectedly showed a lower prevalence of diabetes [OR=.89 (.83–.97)] and hypertension [OR=.88 (.82–.93)]. Effects were largely consistent across age and sex groups. Conclusions The study underscores the utility of examining multiple indicators of stress in relation to health, since the direction and consistency of associations may vary across distinct stress conceptualizations. In addition, the study suggests that chronic stress is related to higher CVD risk and prevalence in Hispanics/Latinos, the largest U.S. ethnic minority group. PMID:24979579

Prevalence of isolated non-albumin proteinuria in the US population tested for both, urine total protein and urine albumin: An unexpected discovery.

PubMed

Katayev, Alexander; Zebelman, Arthur M; Sharp, Thomas M; Samantha Flynn; Bernstein, Richard K

2017-04-01

Isolated non-albumin proteinuria (NAP) is a condition when urine total protein concentrations are elevated without elevation of urine albumin. The prevalence of NAP in the US population tested for both, urine total protein and albumin was assessed in this study. The database of a US nationwide laboratory network was queried for test results when random urine albumin was ordered together with urine total protein and also when timed 24-hour urine albumin was ordered together with urine total protein. The total prevalence of NAP in the US population tested for both, urine total protein and albumin was calculated for patient groups having normal and low-normal urine albumin (random and timed) with elevated and severely increased urine total protein (random and timed). Also, the prevalence of NAP was calculated for patients with normal urine albumin to assess the probability of missing proteinuria if only urine albumin is measured. The prevalence of NAP in the random samples group was 10.1% (15.2% for females and 4.7% for males). Among patients with normal random albumin, there were 20.0% (27.3% of females and 10.7% of males) patients with NAP. The prevalence of NAP in the timed samples group was 24.6% (29.8% for females and 18.5% for males). Among patients with normal timed urine albumin, there were 36.2% (40.0% of females and 30.8% of males) patients with NAP. There was a strong positive association with female gender and NAP in most patients groups. Testing for only urine (micro)albumin can miss up to 40% of females and 30.8% of males with gross proteinuria. Copyright © 2016 The Canadian Society of Clinical Chemists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Unusual trend in the prevalence of trisomy 13 in mothers aged 35 and older: A population based study of national congenital anomaly data.

PubMed

Nair, Deepa Balachandran; Tucker, David; Hughes, Rhian; Greenacre, Judith; Morgan, Margery

2015-07-01

Trisomy 13 is one of the three autosomal trisomies compatible with viability. It is associated with structural anomalies, learning disability and poor survival. Advanced maternal age is the most frequently suggested risk factor. This is a population based register study to investigate the temporal trends of trisomy 13. Chromosomal trisomies were reviewed by the Welsh Congenital Anomaly Register using data from 1998-2012. All pregnancy outcomes were included. Prevalence rates and trends for all cases and for cases with mothers aged below 35 years and those aged 35 years and older were plotted for trisomy 13, 18 and 21. Possible risk factors contributing to the trend in older mothers were compared in the early and late period of the study. There were 124 cases of trisomy 13 over the 15 year period with 55 mothers aged 35 years and older. Overall prevalence was 2.5 per 10,000 total births. A significant declining trend in the prevalence of trisomy 13 in mothers aged 35 and older (χ(2) trend = 4.98, p=0.026) was noted. Rates for younger mothers were lower and remained stable. Prevalence of trisomy 18 and 21 in older mothers remained stable. The unexpected declining trend in trisomy 13 in older mothers could not be explained by the risk factors examined in this study. There have been no other reports of trends in the prevalence of trisomy 13 in older mothers in recent years. There is further need for surveillance of trends in future and in other populations. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The prevalence of low self-esteem in an intellectually disabled forensic population.

PubMed

Johnson, P

2012-03-01

This was a quantitative study to measure the prevalence low self-esteem in an intellectually disabled forensic population. The dependent variables used were the adapted six-item Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and the adapted Evaluative Beliefs Scale. It had a repeated measures design with independent variables including consideration of differences between the low and medium secure parts of the service, the influences of types of offences and the effects of disrupted childhood attachments. Forty-four male clients, with mild to borderline intellectual disabilities, were recruited. Data were collected by one key researcher during individual research interviews using the two structured instruments to measure self-esteem. Further data were then obtained from routinely recorded clinical information held on the hospital computer system. Unexpectedly, the majority of clients scored as having moderate or high self-esteem on both self-esteem measures. There was a statistically significant positive correlation between the two scales. In all, 64% of the population studied had committed either sexual offences or fire setting offences. Contrary to expectation, those who had evidence of disrupted attachments had slightly higher self-esteem than those who had not experienced disrupted attachments. Self-esteem is a complex personal concept with many influencing factors. Cognitive behaviour therapy has a unique role in realising and overcoming negative core beliefs and feelings of low self-worth. The offence types concurred with previously noted patterns of offending within the intellectually disabled forensic population. © 2011 The Author. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder in South Africa: analysis from the South African Stress and Health Study.

PubMed

Atwoli, Lukoye; Stein, Dan J; Williams, David R; Mclaughlin, Katie A; Petukhova, Maria; Kessler, Ronald C; Koenen, Karestan C

2013-07-03

South Africa's unique history, characterised by apartheid, a form of constitutional racial segregation and exploitation, and a long period of political violence and state-sponsored oppression ending only in 1994, suggests a high level of trauma exposure in the general population. The aim of this study was to document the epidemiology of trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the South African general population. The South African Stress and Health Study is a nationally representative survey of South African adults using the WHO's Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) to assess exposure to trauma and presence of DSM-IV mental disorders. The most common traumatic events were the unexpected death of a loved one and witnessing trauma occurring to others. Lifetime and 12-month prevalence rates of PTSD were 2.3% and 0.7% respectively, while the conditional prevalence of PTSD after trauma exposure was 3.5%. PTSD conditional risk after trauma exposure and probability of chronicity after PTSD onset were both highest for witnessing trauma. Socio-demographic factors such as sex, age and education were largely unrelated to PTSD risk. The occurrence of trauma and PTSD in South Africa is not distributed according to the socio-demographic factors or trauma types observed in other countries. The dominant role of witnessing in contributing to PTSD may reflect the public settings of trauma exposure in South Africa and highlight the importance of political and social context in shaping the epidemiology of PTSD.

[Interventions for mental health sequelae of accidents].

PubMed

Angenendt, J

2014-06-01

Emergency psychology and psychotraumatology deal with the psychological sequelae of traumatic experiences, i.e., the prevention and early intervention of posttraumatic mental health disorders. Accidents are the most prevalent traumatic events in the general population that may result in a range of severe trauma and adjustment disorders. Accidents happen suddenly, unexpectedly, and can gravely threaten health, personal integrity, and life. The prevalence of intermittent and chronic psychiatric disorders in the aftermath of severe accidents varies between 5 and 30 %. Victims suffer from unknown and frightening posttraumatic symptoms, often irreversible handicaps as a consequence of their injuries, impairments in everyday functioning, and negative impact on the quality of life. The direct and indirect burden for society is high. Comprehensive secondary prevention, starting with early detection and early intervention of post-accident disorders, is not well established in clinical care. In case of severe accidental injuries, emergency and medical treatment has absolute priority. But all too often, severe mental health problems remain undetected in later treatment phases and therefore cannot be addressed adequately. In primary care, knowledge of specific psychodiagnostic and treatment options is still insufficient. Prejudices, denial, and fear of stigmatization in traumatized victims as well as practical constraints (availability, waiting time) in the referral to special evidence-based interventions limit the access to adequate and effective support. This overview presents the objectives, concepts, and therapeutic tools of a stepped-care model for psychological symptoms after accidental trauma, with reference to clinical guidelines.

Release of inattentional blindness by high working memory load: elucidating the relationship between working memory and selective attention.

PubMed

de Fockert, Jan W; Bremner, Andrew J

2011-12-01

An unexpected stimulus often remains unnoticed if attention is focused elsewhere. This inattentional blindness has been shown to be increased under conditions of high memory load. Here we show that increasing working memory load can also have the opposite effect of reducing inattentional blindness (i.e., improving stimulus detection) if stimulus detection is competing for attention with a concurrent visual task. Participants were required to judge which of two lines was the longer while holding in working memory either one digit (low load) or six digits (high load). An unexpected visual stimulus was presented once alongside the line judgment task. Detection of the unexpected stimulus was significantly improved under conditions of higher working memory load. This improvement in performance prompts the striking conclusion that an effect of cognitive load is to increase attentional spread, thereby enhancing our ability to detect perceptual stimuli to which we would normally be inattentionally blind under less taxing cognitive conditions. We discuss the implications of these findings for our understanding of the relationship between working memory and selective attention. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Openness to the unexpected: Our Pathways to Careers in a Federal Research Laboratory.

USGS Publications Warehouse

Newman, Kurt R.; Bunnell, David B.; Hondorp, Darryl W.; Taylor, William W.; Lynch, Abigail J.; Léonard, Nancy J.

2014-01-01

Many fisheries professionals may not be in the job they originally envisioned for themselves when they began their undergraduate studies. Rather, their current positions could be the result of unexpected, opportunistic, or perhaps even “lucky” open doors that led them down an unexpected path. In many cases, a mentor helped facilitate the unforeseen trajectory. We offer three unique stories about joining a federal fisheries research laboratory, from the perspective of a scientist, a joint manager-scientist, and a manager. We also use our various experiences to form recommendations that should help the next generation of fisheries professionals succeed in any stop along their journey, including being open to opportunities, setting high expectations, and finding a strong and supportive team environment to work in.

Food assistance programmes are indirectly associated with anaemia status in children <5 years old in Mexico.

PubMed

Shamah-Levy, Teresa; Méndez-Gómez-Humarán, Ignacio; Gaona-Pineda, Elsa B; Cuevas-Nasu, Lucia; Villalpando, Salvador

2016-09-01

Anaemia in children is a public health concern in Mexico; Federal food assistance programmes are being implemented to prevent it. We undertook this research to investigate the indirect association between food assistance programmes (FAP) and anaemia through dietary and socio-economic conditions of beneficiary children. A structural equation model (SEM) was constructed to assess associations among FAP, dietary and socio-economic conditions, as well as anaemia. A cross-sectional comparative study was conducted based on a sample of 1214 households with children <5 years old, beneficiaries of two FAP: Prospera and rescue from malnutrition with amaranth (RMA) and a comparison group in San Luis Potosí, Mexico. The SEM and a decomposition effect analysis revealed the existence of a significant indirect association of FAP on the prevalence of anaemia via dietary and socio-economic conditions in children under 5 years old. The Prospera assistance programme showed a significant indirect positive association with the prevalence of anaemia (standard coefficient=0·027, P<0·031), and the RMA programme showed a significant indirect negative association with the prevalence of anaemia (standard coefficient=-0·029, P=0·047). There was a direct association between FAP and dietary and socio-economic conditions. FAP could indirectly modify the prevalence of anaemia in young children with a direct improvement on dietary and socio-economic conditions. The unexpected finding of the association between RMA, dietary and socio-economic conditions and the prevalence of anaemia reflects differences in the focus of the programmes.

Erythrocyte Alloimmunization and Autoimmunization among Blood Donors and Recipients visiting a Tertiary Care Hospital.

PubMed

Kaur, Daljit; Bains, Lovenish; Kandwal, Manoj; Parmar, Indu

2017-03-01

The ultimate aim of pretransfusion testing is the acceptable survival of donor red cells in recipient's body and antibody detection plays a critical role in achieving the same. The cornerstone of antibody detection method is detecting an unexpected antibody as against the expected antibodies of ABO blood group system. Autoantibodies can also interfere with the detection of clinically significant alloantibodies. To study the frequency of alloantibodies and autoantibodies in the healthy blood donors and patient population visiting our hospital. The Column Agglutination Technology (CAT) was used for ABO RhD blood grouping, Direct Antiglobulin Test (DAT), Autocontrol (AC), Indirect Antiglobulin Test (IAT) and red cell antibody screening and the unexpected reactions in any of these tests were recorded for further evaluation. Ethylene Diamine Tetra Acetic Acid (EDTA) blood samples were used for all these tests for both blood donors and admitted patients. The CAT was exercised for the blood grouping (using ABD-Reverse Diluent cassettes) and antibody screening (using 0.8% Surgiscreen, Ortho Clinical Diagnostics Limited, USA and Low Ionic Strength Saline Ortho BLISS with AHG cassettes) on the automated immunohaematology platform ORTHO AutoVue ® Innova system (Ortho Clinical Diagnostics Limited, USA). Among all blood donors (n=6350), seven (0.11%) donors had showed unexpected reaction. Of these, four had positive antibody screen (three having naturally occuring antibodies 2=anti-M, 1=anti-Le a and 1=inconclusive) and the other three had positive DAT. Of all the patient samples (n=6136) screened for irregular red cell antibodies, four (0.06%) patients were found to have unexpected reaction revealing one (0.02%) with anti-M antibody and the other three (0.05%) had autoantibodies in their serum. The combined prevalence for both blood donor and recipient population (n=12,486) was found to be 0.11% at our center. The alloimmunisation among patient population was found to be lower than many other studies worldwide as our hospital does not cater to multitransfused or transfusion dependant patients with haematological disorders and majorly elective surgery patients with no history of previous blood transfusions visit our hospital.

Erythrocyte Alloimmunization and Autoimmunization among Blood Donors and Recipients visiting a Tertiary Care Hospital

PubMed Central

Bains, Lovenish; Kandwal, Manoj; Parmar, Indu

2017-01-01

Introduction The ultimate aim of pretransfusion testing is the acceptable survival of donor red cells in recipient’s body and antibody detection plays a critical role in achieving the same. The cornerstone of antibody detection method is detecting an unexpected antibody as against the expected antibodies of ABO blood group system. Autoantibodies can also interfere with the detection of clinically significant alloantibodies. Aim To study the frequency of alloantibodies and autoantibodies in the healthy blood donors and patient population visiting our hospital. Materials and Methods The Column Agglutination Technology (CAT) was used for ABO RhD blood grouping, Direct Antiglobulin Test (DAT), Autocontrol (AC), Indirect Antiglobulin Test (IAT) and red cell antibody screening and the unexpected reactions in any of these tests were recorded for further evaluation. Ethylene Diamine Tetra Acetic Acid (EDTA) blood samples were used for all these tests for both blood donors and admitted patients. The CAT was exercised for the blood grouping (using ABD-Reverse Diluent cassettes) and antibody screening (using 0.8% Surgiscreen, Ortho Clinical Diagnostics Limited, USA and Low Ionic Strength Saline Ortho BLISS with AHG cassettes) on the automated immunohaematology platform ORTHO AutoVue® Innova system (Ortho Clinical Diagnostics Limited, USA). Results Among all blood donors (n=6350), seven (0.11%) donors had showed unexpected reaction. Of these, four had positive antibody screen (three having naturally occuring antibodies 2=anti-M, 1=anti-Lea and 1=inconclusive) and the other three had positive DAT. Of all the patient samples (n=6136) screened for irregular red cell antibodies, four (0.06%) patients were found to have unexpected reaction revealing one (0.02%) with anti-M antibody and the other three (0.05%) had autoantibodies in their serum. Conclusion The combined prevalence for both blood donor and recipient population (n=12,486) was found to be 0.11% at our center. The alloimmunisation among patient population was found to be lower than many other studies worldwide as our hospital does not cater to multitransfused or transfusion dependant patients with haematological disorders and majorly elective surgery patients with no history of previous blood transfusions visit our hospital. PMID:28511387

Incorporating uncertainty into medical decision making: an approach to unexpected test results.

PubMed

Bianchi, Matt T; Alexander, Brian M; Cash, Sydney S

2009-01-01

The utility of diagnostic tests derives from the ability to translate the population concepts of sensitivity and specificity into information that will be useful for the individual patient: the predictive value of the result. As the array of available diagnostic testing broadens, there is a temptation to de-emphasize history and physical findings and defer to the objective rigor of technology. However, diagnostic test interpretation is not always straightforward. One significant barrier to routine use of probability-based test interpretation is the uncertainty inherent in pretest probability estimation, the critical first step of Bayesian reasoning. The context in which this uncertainty presents the greatest challenge is when test results oppose clinical judgment. It is this situation when decision support would be most helpful. The authors propose a simple graphical approach that incorporates uncertainty in pretest probability and has specific application to the interpretation of unexpected results. This method quantitatively demonstrates how uncertainty in disease probability may be amplified when test results are unexpected (opposing clinical judgment), even for tests with high sensitivity and specificity. The authors provide a simple nomogram for determining whether an unexpected test result suggests that one should "switch diagnostic sides.'' This graphical framework overcomes the limitation of pretest probability uncertainty in Bayesian analysis and guides decision making when it is most challenging: interpretation of unexpected test results.

The power of siblings and caregivers: under-explored types of social support among children affected by HIV and AIDS.

PubMed

Sharer, Melissa; Cluver, Lucie; Shields, Joseph J; Ahearn, Frederick

2016-03-01

Children affected by HIV and AIDS have significantly higher rates of mental health problems than unaffected children. There is a need for research to examine how social support functions as a source of resiliency for children in high HIV-prevalence settings such as South Africa. The purpose of this research was to explore how family social support relates to depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress (PTS). Using the ecological model as a frame, data were drawn from a 2011 cross-sectional study of 1380 children classified as either orphaned by AIDS and/or living with an AIDS sick family member. The children were from high-poverty, high HIV-prevalent rural and urban communities in South Africa. Social support was analyzed in depth by examining the source (e.g. caregiver, sibling) and the type (e.g. emotional, instrumental, quality). These variables were entered into multiple regression analyses to estimate the most parsimonious regression models to show the relationships between social support and depression, anxiety, and PTS symptoms among the children. Siblings emerged as the most consistent source of social support on mental health. Overall caregiver and sibling support explained 13% variance in depression, 12% in anxiety, and 11% in PTS. Emotional support was the most frequent type of social support associated with mental health in all regression models, with higher levels of quality and instrumental support having the strongest relation to positive mental health outcomes. Although instrumental and quality support from siblings were related to positive mental health, unexpectedly, the higher the level of emotional support received from a sibling resulted in the child reporting more symptoms of depression, anxiety, and PTS. The opposite was true for emotional support provided via caregivers, higher levels of this support was related to lower levels of all mental health symptoms. Sex was significant in all regressions, indicating the presence of moderation.

The power of siblings and caregivers: under-explored types of social support among children affected by HIV and AIDS

PubMed Central

Sharer, Melissa; Cluver, Lucie; Shields, Joseph J.; Ahearn, Frederick

2016-01-01

ABSTRACT Children affected by HIV and AIDS have significantly higher rates of mental health problems than unaffected children. There is a need for research to examine how social support functions as a source of resiliency for children in high HIV-prevalence settings such as South Africa. The purpose of this research was to explore how family social support relates to depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress (PTS). Using the ecological model as a frame, data were drawn from a 2011 cross-sectional study of 1380 children classified as either orphaned by AIDS and/or living with an AIDS sick family member. The children were from high-poverty, high HIV-prevalent rural and urban communities in South Africa. Social support was analyzed in depth by examining the source (e.g. caregiver, sibling) and the type (e.g. emotional, instrumental, quality). These variables were entered into multiple regression analyses to estimate the most parsimonious regression models to show the relationships between social support and depression, anxiety, and PTS symptoms among the children. Siblings emerged as the most consistent source of social support on mental health. Overall caregiver and sibling support explained 13% variance in depression, 12% in anxiety, and 11% in PTS. Emotional support was the most frequent type of social support associated with mental health in all regression models, with higher levels of quality and instrumental support having the strongest relation to positive mental health outcomes. Although instrumental and quality support from siblings were related to positive mental health, unexpectedly, the higher the level of emotional support received from a sibling resulted in the child reporting more symptoms of depression, anxiety, and PTS. The opposite was true for emotional support provided via caregivers, higher levels of this support was related to lower levels of all mental health symptoms. Sex was significant in all regressions, indicating the presence of moderation. PMID:27392006

Unexpectedly high pressure for molecular dissociation in liquid hydrogen by electronic simulation.

PubMed

Mazzola, Guglielmo; Yunoki, Seiji; Sorella, Sandro

2014-03-19

The study of the high pressure phase diagram of hydrogen has continued with renewed effort for about one century as it remains a fundamental challenge for experimental and theoretical techniques. Here we employ an efficient molecular dynamics based on the quantum Monte Carlo method, which can describe accurately the electronic correlation and treat a large number of hydrogen atoms, allowing a realistic and reliable prediction of thermodynamic properties. We find that the molecular liquid phase is unexpectedly stable, and the transition towards a fully atomic liquid phase occurs at much higher pressure than previously believed. The old standing problem of low-temperature atomization is, therefore, still far from experimental reach.

Incidence of sudden unexpected death in epilepsy in community-based cohort in China.

PubMed

Ge, Yan; Ding, Ding; Zhang, Qing; Yang, Bin; Wang, Taiping; Li, Beixu; Wang, Jie; Luo, Jianfeng; Kwan, Patrick; Wang, Wenzhi; Hong, Zhen; Sander, Josemir W

2017-11-01

Sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) is associated with the high premature mortality observed among people with epilepsy. It is, however, considered a rare event in China, probably because of lack of awareness and limitation of studies in the country. We aimed to provide some initial estimation of the burden of SUDEP in China. We established a large Chinese community-based cohort of people with epilepsy between January 2010 and December 2011. For any participant who died during follow-up, detailed information on cause of death was obtained using a specifically designed Verbal Autopsy Questionnaire. All cases were reviewed by a multidisciplinary expert panel and reinvestigated if necessary. Sudden unexpected death in epilepsy incidence rates were estimated and case details provided. The cohort consisted of 1562 people and during a median 5years follow-up, 72 deaths were reported. The all-causes death incidence was 11.23 (95% CI 8.86-14.07) per 1000 person-years. Fifteen died suddenly and unexpectedly in a reasonable state of health in the week preceding death. We recorded detailed information of these 15 deaths. Thirteen were considered to be probable SUDEP and two possible SUDEP. The incidence of probable SUDEP was 2.03 (95% CI 1.13-3.38) per 1000 person-years, and the incidence of all suspected (probable and possible) SUDEP was 2.34 (95% CI 1.36-3.77) per 1000 person-years. The incidence of SUDEP was relatively high among Chinese people with epilepsy when compared with that in previous community-based studies from high-income countries. The burden of SUDEP in China requires further assessments. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Pregabalin misuse in methadone maintenance treatment patients in Israel: Prevalence and risk factors.

PubMed

Sason, Anat; Adelson, Miriam; Schreiber, Shaul; Peles, Einat

2018-05-29

Drug users reportedly abuse pregabalin, and its combination with opiates was related to fatalities. We aimed to estimate the prevalence of pregabalin misuse and risk factors among patients in methadone maintenance treatment (MMT). A cross-sectional study included all current MMT patients (n = 300) after excluding 9 with prescriptions, from a large tertiary medical center university-affiliated MMT clinic in Israel. Pregabalin was tested in one of the routine urine tests for other substances in December 2017. Data on urine results and patients' characteristics were retrieved from the patients' records. Pregabalin was detected among 53 (17.7%) patients. The group had higher depressive symptoms severity score (21-HAM-D) (11.1 ± 8.4 vs. 8.3 ± 7.8, p = 0.03), a higher prevalence of sero-positive HIV (13.7% vs. 4.2%, p = 0.02), sero-positive hepatitis C (66.7% vs. 50.4%, p = 0.04), DSM-IV-TR Axis I psychiatric diagnosis (54.0% vs. 41.7%, p = 0.03), and positive urine for opiates (22.6% vs. 8.9%, p = 0.008), cannabis (39.6% vs. 4.0 p < 0.0005) benzodiazepine (BDZ) (77.4% vs. 18.2%, p < 0.0005) and oxycodone (11.3% vs. 0.4%, p < 0.0005). Logistic regression found pregabalin group as more likely to be urine positive to BDZ (OR = 12.8 95%CI 5.0-32.5) cannabis (OR = 22.7, 95%CI 6.3-81.6) and oxycodone (OR = 43.9, 95%CI 3.6-541.4), with higher 21-HAM-D scores (OR = 1.1, 95%CI 1.04-1.2) and hepatitis C sera-positive (OR = 4.1, 95% CI 1.5-11.4). Unexpectedly, 13.2% of the pregabalin group had take-home dose privileges, which are rewards to non-drug abusers. High prevalence of pregabalin misuse among both BDZ abusers and non-abusers and patients with depressive symptoms supports both the inclusion of routine monitoring for pregabalin and intervention in MMT population. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.

The epidemiology of tick-borne haemoparasites as determined by the reverse line blot hybridization assay in an intensively studied cohort of calves in western Kenya

PubMed Central

Njiiri, Nyawira E.; Bronsvoort, B. Mark deC.; Collins, Nicola E.; Steyn, Helena C.; Troskie, Milana; Vorster, Ilse; Thumbi, S.M.; Sibeko, Kgomotso P.; Jennings, Amy; van Wyk, Ilana Conradie; Mbole-Kariuki, Mary; Kiara, Henry; Poole, E. Jane; Hanotte, Olivier; Coetzer, Koos; Oosthuizen, Marinda C.; Woolhouse, Mark; Toye, Philip

2015-01-01

The development of sensitive surveillance technologies using PCR-based detection of microbial DNA, such as the reverse line blot assay, can facilitate the gathering of epidemiological information on tick-borne diseases, which continue to hamper the productivity of livestock in many parts of Africa and elsewhere. We have employed a reverse line blot assay to detect the prevalence of tick-borne parasites in an intensively studied cohort of indigenous calves in western Kenya. The calves were recruited close to birth and monitored for the presence of infectious disease for up to 51 weeks. The final visit samples from 453 calves which survived for the study period were analyzed by RLB. The results indicated high prevalences of Theileria mutans (71.6%), T. velifera (62.8%), Anaplasma sp. Omatjenne (42.7%), A. bovis (39.9%), Theileria sp. (sable) (32.7%), T. parva (12.9%) and T. taurotragi (8.5%), with minor occurrences of eight other haemoparasites. The unexpectedly low prevalence of the pathogenic species Ehrlichia ruminantium was confirmed by a species-specific PCR targeting the pCS20 gene region. Coinfection analyses of the seven most prevalent haemoparasites indicated that they were present as coinfections in over 90% of the cases. The analyses revealed significant associations between several of the Theileria parasites, in particular T. velifera with Theileria sp. sable and T. mutans, and T. parva with T. taurotragi. There was very little coinfection of the two most common Anaplasma species, although they were commonly detected as coinfections with the Theileria parasites. The comparison of reverse line blot and serological results for four haemoparasites (T. parva, T. mutans, A. marginale and B. bigemina) indicated that, except for the mostly benign T. mutans, indigenous cattle seem capable of clearing infections of the three other, pathogenic parasites to below detectable levels. Although the study site was located across four agroecological zones, there was little restriction of the parasites to particular zones. PMID:25858115

Prevention of childhood malnutrition: immensity of the challenge and variety of strategies.

PubMed

Duggan, Maureen B

2014-11-01

The scope of this review is partly dictated by the global concern to improve nutrition, starting with proclamation of the Millennium Development Goals, followed by the Scaling-up Nutrition (SUN) project. The global and regional prevalence of child malnutrition is described and discussed in detail. The various and sometimes unexpected effects of recent economic development and urbanisation on nutritional status are described. Preventive intervention, using the post-SUN terminology of nutrition-sensitive and nutrition-specific interventions is reviewed, citing examples of each. Early treatment of malnutrition, e.g. by community therapeutic care, is regarded as preventive. Indirect but nutrition-specific approaches to prevention by immunisation and management of infections such as HIV are also reviewed.

Strategies for sustainable management of renewable resources during environmental change.

PubMed

Lindkvist, Emilie; Ekeberg, Örjan; Norberg, Jon

2017-03-15

As a consequence of global environmental change, management strategies that can deal with unexpected change in resource dynamics are becoming increasingly important. In this paper we undertake a novel approach to studying resource growth problems using a computational form of adaptive management to find optimal strategies for prevalent natural resource management dilemmas. We scrutinize adaptive management, or learning-by-doing, to better understand how to simultaneously manage and learn about a system when its dynamics are unknown. We study important trade-offs in decision-making with respect to choosing optimal actions (harvest efforts) for sustainable management during change. This is operationalized through an artificially intelligent model where we analyze how different trends and fluctuations in growth rates of a renewable resource affect the performance of different management strategies. Our results show that the optimal strategy for managing resources with declining growth is capable of managing resources with fluctuating or increasing growth at a negligible cost, creating in a management strategy that is both efficient and robust towards future unknown changes. To obtain this strategy, adaptive management should strive for: high learning rates to new knowledge, high valuation of future outcomes and modest exploration around what is perceived as the optimal action. © 2017 The Author(s).

Bluetongue and epizootic haemorrhagic disease virus in local breeds of cattle in Kenya.

PubMed

Toye, P G; Batten, C A; Kiara, H; Henstock, M R; Edwards, L; Thumbi, S; Poole, E J; Handel, I G; Bronsvoort, B M deC; Hanotte, O; Coetzer, J A W; Woolhouse, M E J; Oura, C A L

2013-06-01

The presence of bluetongue virus (BTV) and Epizootic Haemorrhagic Disease virus (EHDV) in indigenous calves in western Kenya was investigated. Serum was analysed for BTV and EHDV antibodies. The population seroprevalences for BTV and EHDV for calves at 51 weeks of age were estimated to be 0.942 (95% CI 0.902-0.970) and 0.637 (95% CI 0.562-0.710), respectively, indicating high levels of circulating BTV and EHDV. The odds ratio of being positive for BTV if EHDV positive was estimated to be 2.57 (95% CI 1.37-4.76). When 99 calves were tested for BTV and EHDV RNA by real-time RT-PCR, 88.9% and 63.6% were positive, respectively. Comparison of the serology and real-time RT-PCR results revealed an unexpectedly large number of calves that were negative by serology but positive by real-time RT-PCR for EHDV. Eight samples positive for BTV RNA were serotyped using 24 serotype-specific real-time RT-PCR assays. Nine BTV serotypes were detected, indicating that the cattle were infected with a heterogeneous population of BTVs. The results show that BTV and EHDV are highly prevalent, with cattle being infected from an early age. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Bluetongue and Epizootic Haemorrhagic Disease virus in local breeds of cattle in Kenya

PubMed Central

Toye, P.G.; Batten, C.A.; Kiara, H.; Henstock, M.R.; Edwards, L.; Thumbi, S.; Poole, E.J.; Handel, I.G.; Bronsvoort, B.M.deC.; Hanotte, O.; Coetzer, J.A.W.; Woolhouse, M.E.J.; Oura, C.A.L.

2013-01-01

The presence of bluetongue virus (BTV) and Epizootic Haemorrhagic Disease virus (EHDV) in indigenous calves in western Kenya was investigated. Serum was analysed for BTV and EHDV antibodies. The population seroprevalences for BTV and EHDV for calves at 51 weeks of age were estimated to be 0.942 (95% CI 0.902–0.970) and 0.637 (95% CI 0.562–0.710), respectively, indicating high levels of circulating BTV and EHDV. The odds ratio of being positive for BTV if EHDV positive was estimated to be 2.57 (95% CI 1.37–4.76). When 99 calves were tested for BTV and EHDV RNA by real-time RT-PCR, 88.9% and 63.6% were positive, respectively. Comparison of the serology and real-time RT-PCR results revealed an unexpectedly large number of calves that were negative by serology but positive by real-time RT-PCR for EHDV. Eight samples positive for BTV RNA were serotyped using 24 serotype-specific real-time RT-PCR assays. Nine BTV serotypes were detected, indicating that the cattle were infected with a heterogeneous population of BTVs. The results show that BTV and EHDV are highly prevalent, with cattle being infected from an early age. PMID:23261160

Associations of Adolescent Weight Status and Meeting National Obesity-Related Recommendations.

PubMed

Cook, Jessica A; McCormick, Emily V; Mickiewicz, Theresa E; Davidson, Arthur J; Main, Deborah S

2017-12-01

Adolescent overweight and obesity are serious health risks, with prevalence varying by sociodemographic group. Studies link children's weight status and sex/race-ethnic differences with meeting recommendations for physical activity and diet. But, research examining the intersection of sociodemographic characteristics, behavior, and weight status is limited. This paper aims to identify sociodemographic differences in the association between adolescent weight status and meeting 6 national obesity-related recommendations. In 2011-2012, the Healthy Kids Colorado Survey was administered to all Denver high school students. Using descriptive and multivariate modeling, we examined subgroup associations between students' self-reported weight status and physical activity and diet. Students (N = 6652) who met at least 1 recommendation were less likely to be at an unhealthy weight (OR = 0.87); also true for students who met at least 1 physical activity recommendation (OR = 0.80). However, the association varied across subgroups. The association between weight status and meeting at least 1 nutritional recommendation (OR = 0.91) was inconsistent across subgroups. Unexpected patterns also emerged in subgroup associations between meeting specific recommendations and weight status. Identifying subgroup differences in meeting recommendations and the association with weight status is important in identifying high risk groups and improving policy and programs that target childhood obesity prevention. © 2017, American School Health Association.

Detection of Unexpected High Correlations between Balance Calibration Loads and Load Residuals

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ulbrich, N.; Volden, T.

2014-01-01

An algorithm was developed for the assessment of strain-gage balance calibration data that makes it possible to systematically investigate potential sources of unexpected high correlations between calibration load residuals and applied calibration loads. The algorithm investigates correlations on a load series by load series basis. The linear correlation coefficient is used to quantify the correlations. It is computed for all possible pairs of calibration load residuals and applied calibration loads that can be constructed for the given balance calibration data set. An unexpected high correlation between a load residual and a load is detected if three conditions are met: (i) the absolute value of the correlation coefficient of a residual/load pair exceeds 0.95; (ii) the maximum of the absolute values of the residuals of a load series exceeds 0.25 % of the load capacity; (iii) the load component of the load series is intentionally applied. Data from a baseline calibration of a six-component force balance is used to illustrate the application of the detection algorithm to a real-world data set. This analysis also showed that the detection algorithm can identify load alignment errors as long as repeat load series are contained in the balance calibration data set that do not suffer from load alignment problems.

Hepatitis E in hemodialysis and kidney transplant patients in south-east Italy

PubMed Central

Scotto, Gaetano; Aucella, Filippo; Grandaliano, Giuseppe; Martinelli, Domenico; Querques, Mario; Gesuete, Antonio; Infante, Barbara; Carri, Paolo Delli; Massa, Salvatore; Salatino, Giovanna; Bulla, Fabio; Fazio, Vincenzina

2015-01-01

AIM: To investigate the serovirological prevalence and clinical features of hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection in end-stage renal failure patients and in the healthy population. METHODS: HEV infection is a viral disease that can cause sporadic and epidemic hepatitis. Previous studies unexpectedly showed a high prevalence of HEV antibodies in immunosuppressed subjects, including hemodialysis (HD) patients and patients who had undergone kidney transplant. A cohort/case-control study was carried out from January 2012 to August 2013 in two hospitals in southern Italy (Foggia and S. Giovanni Rotondo, Apulia). The seroprevalence of HEV was determined in 801 subjects; 231 HD patients, 120 renal transplant recipients, and 450 health individuals. All HD patients and the recipients of renal transplants were attending the Departments of Nephrology and Dialysis at two hospitals located in Southern Italy, and were included progressively in this study. Serum samples were tested for HEV antibodies (IgG/IgM); in the case of positivity they were confirmed by a Western blot assay and were also tested for HEV-RNA, and the HEV genotypes were determined. RESULTS: A total of 30/801 (3.7%) patients were positive for anti-HEV Ig (IgG and/or IgM) and by Western blot. The healthy population presented with a prevalence of 2.7%, HD patients had a prevalence of 6.0%, and transplant recipients had a prevalence of 3.3%. The overall combined HEV-positive prevalence in the two groups with chronic renal failure was 5.1%. The rates of exposure to HEV (positivity of HEV-IgG/M in the early samples) were lower in the healthy controls, but the difference among the three groups was not statistically significant (P > 0.05). Positivity for anti-HEV/IgM was detected in 4/30 (13.33%) anti-HEV Ig positive individuals, in 2/14 HD patients, in 1/4 transplant individuals, and in 1/12 of the healthy population. The relative risk of being HEV-IgM-positive was significantly higher among transplant recipients compared to the other two groups (OR = 65.4, 95%CI: 7.2-592.7, P < 0.001), but the subjects with HEV-IgM positivity were numerically too few to calculate a significant difference. No patient presented with chronic hepatitis from HEV infection alone. CONCLUSION: This study indicated a higher, but not significant, circulation of HEV in hemodialysis patients vs the healthy population. Chronic hepatitis due to the HEV virus was not observed. PMID:25805933

Hepatitis E in hemodialysis and kidney transplant patients in south-east Italy.

PubMed

Scotto, Gaetano; Aucella, Filippo; Grandaliano, Giuseppe; Martinelli, Domenico; Querques, Mario; Gesuete, Antonio; Infante, Barbara; Carri, Paolo Delli; Massa, Salvatore; Salatino, Giovanna; Bulla, Fabio; Fazio, Vincenzina

2015-03-21

To investigate the serovirological prevalence and clinical features of hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection in end-stage renal failure patients and in the healthy population. HEV infection is a viral disease that can cause sporadic and epidemic hepatitis. Previous studies unexpectedly showed a high prevalence of HEV antibodies in immunosuppressed subjects, including hemodialysis (HD) patients and patients who had undergone kidney transplant. A cohort/case-control study was carried out from January 2012 to August 2013 in two hospitals in southern Italy (Foggia and S. Giovanni Rotondo, Apulia). The seroprevalence of HEV was determined in 801 subjects; 231 HD patients, 120 renal transplant recipients, and 450 health individuals. All HD patients and the recipients of renal transplants were attending the Departments of Nephrology and Dialysis at two hospitals located in Southern Italy, and were included progressively in this study. Serum samples were tested for HEV antibodies (IgG/IgM); in the case of positivity they were confirmed by a Western blot assay and were also tested for HEV-RNA, and the HEV genotypes were determined. A total of 30/801 (3.7%) patients were positive for anti-HEV Ig (IgG and/or IgM) and by Western blot. The healthy population presented with a prevalence of 2.7%, HD patients had a prevalence of 6.0%, and transplant recipients had a prevalence of 3.3%. The overall combined HEV-positive prevalence in the two groups with chronic renal failure was 5.1%. The rates of exposure to HEV (positivity of HEV-IgG/M in the early samples) were lower in the healthy controls, but the difference among the three groups was not statistically significant (P > 0.05). Positivity for anti-HEV/IgM was detected in 4/30 (13.33%) anti-HEV Ig positive individuals, in 2/14 HD patients, in 1/4 transplant individuals, and in 1/12 of the healthy population. The relative risk of being HEV-IgM-positive was significantly higher among transplant recipients compared to the other two groups (OR = 65.4, 95%CI: 7.2-592.7, P < 0.001), but the subjects with HEV-IgM positivity were numerically too few to calculate a significant difference. No patient presented with chronic hepatitis from HEV infection alone. This study indicated a higher, but not significant, circulation of HEV in hemodialysis patients vs the healthy population. Chronic hepatitis due to the HEV virus was not observed.

Incidental findings on brain Magnetic Resonance Imaging in long-term survivors of breast cancer treated with adjuvant chemotherapy.

PubMed

Koppelmans, Vincent; Schagen, Sanne B; Poels, Mariëlle M F; Boogerd, Willem; Seynaeve, Caroline; van der Lugt, Aad; Breteler, Monique M B

2011-11-01

Incidental brain findings defined as previously undetected abnormalities of potential clinical relevance that are unexpectedly discovered at brain imaging and are unrelated to the purpose of the examination are common in the general population. Because it is unclear whether the prevalence of incidental findings in breast cancer patients treated with chemotherapy is different to that in the general population, we compared the prevalence in breast cancer survivors treated with chemotherapy to that in a population-based sample of women without a history of any cancer. Structural brain MRI (1.5T) was performed in 191 female CMF (Cyclophosphamide, Methotrexate, 5-Fluorouracil) chemotherapy-exposed breast cancer survivors. A reference group of 1590 women without a history of cancer was sampled from a population-based cohort study. All participants were aged 50 to 80 years. Five trained reviewers recorded the brain abnormalities. Two experienced neuro-radiologists reviewed the incidental findings. The cancer survivors had completed chemotherapy on average 21 years before. Of the 191 subjects, 2.6% had an aneurysm and 3.7% had a meningioma. The prevalence of meningiomas and aneurysms was not different between the groups. The prevalence of pituitary macro adenomas in the breast cancer survivors (1.6%) was higher than that in the reference group (0.1%) (OR=23.7; 95% CI 2.3-245.8). Contrary to commonly held opinions, we did not observe an increased prevalence of meningiomas in cancer survivors. Breast cancer survivors previously treated with chemotherapy are more likely to develop pituitary adenomas than persons without a history of cancer and chemotherapy treatment. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Prevalence of clinical findings of carpal tunnel syndrome in Isfahanian dentists

PubMed Central

Haghighat, Abbas; Khosrawi, Saeid; Kelishadi, Abdolmajid; Sajadieh, Sepideh; Badrian, Hamid

2012-01-01

Background: Carpal tunnel Syndrome (CTS) is the most common compression neuropathy. Jobs with frequent and repetitive hand movements are one of the risk factors for this syndrome. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of CTS in Isfahanian dentists. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional descriptive study, 240 dentists were evaluated for CTS. Diagnosis was made according to both questionnaire and clinical tests of Phalen and Tinel. Age, sex, years of experience, working hours per week and the type of procedure were considered as dependent variables. All data were analyzed by Chi-square and T-test using SPSS software 11.5 (α=0.05). Results: Among the dentists who were studied, 173 (72%) were male and 67 (28%) were female. 16.2% of males and 17.9% of females had symptoms of CTS and there wasn’t any significant difference between them (P>0.05%). the prevalence increased with advancing age. In a way that it reached to 22.2% in ages more than 55 in contrast to 6% among individuals between 25–34 years old. With increasing of experience to 15 years the risk of CTS increased but an unexpected reduction was observed with more than 15 years of experience. Conclusion: This study showed the prevalence of CTS was 16.7% among dentists and was more common in older dentists. CTS prevalence was increased with age. The dentist population with more working hours per week and more experience years were more susceptible for this syndrome. Using suitable gloves, wrist splints and short periods of resting during vigorous continuous working can decrease the symptoms of this disease. PMID:23210072

Transfusion associated peak in hb HPLC chromatogram - a case report.

PubMed

Jain, Sonal; Dass, Jasmita; Pati, Hara Prasad

2012-01-01

High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and electrophoresis are commonly used to diagnose various hemoglobinopathies. However, insufficient information about the transfusion history can lead to unexpected and confusing results. We are reporting a case of Juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia (JMML) in which HbHPLC was done to quantify fetal hemoglobin (HbF). The chromatogram showed elevated HbF along with a peak in the HbD window. A transfusion acquired peak was suspected based on the unexpectedly low percentage of HbD and was subsequently confirmed using parental HbHPLC.

Transfusion Associated Peak in Hb HPLC Chromatogram – a Case Report

PubMed Central

Jain, Sonal; Dass, Jasmita; Pati, Hara Prasad

2012-01-01

High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and electrophoresis are commonly used to diagnose various hemoglobinopathies. However, insufficient information about the transfusion history can lead to unexpected and confusing results. We are reporting a case of Juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia (JMML) in which HbHPLC was done to quantify fetal hemoglobin (HbF). The chromatogram showed elevated HbF along with a peak in the HbD window. A transfusion acquired peak was suspected based on the unexpectedly low percentage of HbD and was subsequently confirmed using parental HbHPLC. PMID:22348188

TOTALL: high cost of allergic rhinitis-a national Swedish population-based questionnaire study.

PubMed

Cardell, Lars-Olaf; Olsson, Petter; Andersson, Morgan; Welin, Karl-Olof; Svensson, Johanna; Tennvall, Gunnel Ragnarson; Hellgren, Johan

2016-02-04

Allergic rhinitis is a global illness with a well-recognised impact on quality of life and work performance. Comparatively little is known about the extent of its economic impact on society. The TOTALL study estimates the total cost of allergic rhinitis using a sample representing the entire Swedish population of working age. A questionnaire focused on allergic rhinitis was mailed out to a random population of Swedish residents, aged 18-65 years. Health-care contacts, medications, absenteeism (absence from work) and presenteeism (reduced working capacity at work) were assessed, and the direct and indirect costs of allergic rhinitis were calculated. Medication use was evaluated in relation to the ARIA guidelines. In all, 3,501 of 8,001 (44%) answered the questionnaire, and 855 (24%) of these reported allergic rhinitis. The mean annual direct and indirect costs because of allergic rhinitis were €210.3 and €750.8, respectively, resulting in a total cost of €961.1 per individual/year. Presenteeism represented 70% of the total cost. Antihistamines appear to be used in excess in relation to topical steroids, and the use of nasal decongestants was alarmingly high. The total cost of allergic rhinitis in Sweden, with a population of 9.5 million, was estimated at €1.3 billion annually. These unexpectedly high costs could be related to the high prevalence of disease, in combination with the previously often underestimated indirect costs. Improved adherence to guidelines might ease the economic burden on society.

Anaemia among children in a drought affected community in south-central Ethiopia.

PubMed

Gari, Taye; Loha, Eskindir; Deressa, Wakgari; Solomon, Tarekegn; Atsbeha, Hanibale; Assegid, Meselech; Hailu, Alemayehu; Lindtjørn, Bernt

2017-01-01

As part of a field trial (PACTR201411000882128) to provide evidence on the combined use of long-lasting insecticidal nets and indoor residual spray for malaria prevention, we measured haemoglobin values among children aged 6 to 59 months. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of anaemia, and to determine the risk factors of anaemia and change in haemoglobin value in Adami Tullu district in south-central Ethiopia. Repeated cross-sectional surveys among 2984 children in 2014 and 3128 children in 2015; and a cohort study (malaria as exposure and anaemia as outcome variable) were conducted. The study area faced severe drought and food shortages in 2015. Anaemia was diagnosed using HemoCue Hb 301, and children with haemoglobin <11 g/dl were classified as anaemic. Multilevel and Cox regression models were applied to assess predictors of anaemia. The prevalence of anaemia was 28.2% [95% Confidence Interval (CI), 26.6-29.8] in 2014 and increased to 36.8% (95% CI, 35.1-38.5) in 2015 (P<0.001). The incidence of anaemia was 30; (95% CI, 28-32) cases per 100 children years of observation. The risk of anaemia was high (adjusted Hazard Ratio = 10) among children with malaria. Children from poor families [Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR); 1.3; 95% CI, 1.1-1.6)], stunted children (AOR 1.5; 95% CI; 1.2-1.8), and children aged less than 36 months (AOR; 2.0; 95% CI, 1.6-2.4) were at risk of anaemia compared to their counterparts. There was no significant difference in risk of anaemia among the trial arms. Young age, stunting, malaria and poverty were the main predictors of anaemia. An increase in the prevalence of anaemia was observed over a year, despite malaria prevention effort, which could be related to the drought and food shortage. Therefore, conducting trials in settings prone to drought and famine may bring unexpected challenges.

Anemia and Micronutrient Status of Women of Childbearing Age and Children 6–59 Months in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

PubMed Central

Harvey-Leeson, Sarah; Karakochuk, Crystal D.; Hawes, Meaghan; Tugirimana, Pierrot L.; Bahizire, Esto; Akilimali, Pierre Z.; Michaux, Kristina D.; Lynd, Larry D.; Whitfield, Kyly C.; Moursi, Mourad; Boy, Erick; Foley, Jennifer; McLean, Judy; Houghton, Lisa A.; Gibson, Rosalind S.; Green, Tim J.

2016-01-01

Little is known about the micronutrient status of women and children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which is critical for the design of effective nutrition interventions. We recruited 744 mother-child pairs from South Kivu (SK) and Kongo Central (KC). We determined hemoglobin (Hb), serum zinc, vitamin B12, folate, ferritin, soluble transferrin receptor (sTfR), retinol binding protein (RBP), C-reactive protein, and α-1 acid glycoprotein concentrations. Anemia prevalence was determined using Hb adjusted for altitude alone and Hb adjusted for both altitude and ethnicity. Anemia prevalence was lower after Hb adjustment for altitude and ethnicity, compared to only altitude, among women (6% vs. 17% in SK; 10% vs. 32% in KC), children 6–23 months (26% vs. 59% in SK; 25% vs. 42% in KC), and children 24–59 months (14% vs. 35% in SK; 23% vs. 44% in KC), respectively. Iron deficiency was seemingly higher with sTfR as compared to inflammation-adjusted ferritin among women (18% vs. 4% in SK; 21% vs. 5% in KC), children 6–23 months (51% vs. 14% in SK; 74% vs. 10% in KC), and children 24–59 months (23% vs. 4% in SK; 58% vs. 1% in KC). Regardless of indicator, iron deficiency anemia (IDA) never exceeded 3% in women. In children, IDA reached almost 20% when sTfR was used but was only 10% with ferritin. Folate, B12, and vitamin A (RBP) deficiencies were all very low (<5%); RBP was 10% in children. The prevalence of anemia was unexpectedly low. Inflammation-adjusted zinc deficiency was high among women (52% in SK; 58% in KC), children 6–23 months (23% in SK; 20% in KC), and children 24–59 months (25% in SK; 27% in KC). The rate of biochemical zinc deficiency among Congolese women and children requires attention. PMID:26901219

Anemia and Micronutrient Status of Women of Childbearing Age and Children 6-59 Months in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

PubMed

Harvey-Leeson, Sarah; Karakochuk, Crystal D; Hawes, Meaghan; Tugirimana, Pierrot L; Bahizire, Esto; Akilimali, Pierre Z; Michaux, Kristina D; Lynd, Larry D; Whitfield, Kyly C; Moursi, Mourad; Boy, Erick; Foley, Jennifer; McLean, Judy; Houghton, Lisa A; Gibson, Rosalind S; Green, Tim J

2016-02-17

Little is known about the micronutrient status of women and children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which is critical for the design of effective nutrition interventions. We recruited 744 mother-child pairs from South Kivu (SK) and Kongo Central (KC). We determined hemoglobin (Hb), serum zinc, vitamin B12, folate, ferritin, soluble transferrin receptor (sTfR), retinol binding protein (RBP), C-reactive protein, and α-1 acid glycoprotein concentrations. Anemia prevalence was determined using Hb adjusted for altitude alone and Hb adjusted for both altitude and ethnicity. Anemia prevalence was lower after Hb adjustment for altitude and ethnicity, compared to only altitude, among women (6% vs. 17% in SK; 10% vs. 32% in KC), children 6-23 months (26% vs. 59% in SK; 25% vs. 42% in KC), and children 24-59 months (14% vs. 35% in SK; 23% vs. 44% in KC), respectively. Iron deficiency was seemingly higher with sTfR as compared to inflammation-adjusted ferritin among women (18% vs. 4% in SK; 21% vs. 5% in KC), children 6-23 months (51% vs. 14% in SK; 74% vs. 10% in KC), and children 24-59 months (23% vs. 4% in SK; 58% vs. 1% in KC). Regardless of indicator, iron deficiency anemia (IDA) never exceeded 3% in women. In children, IDA reached almost 20% when sTfR was used but was only 10% with ferritin. Folate, B12, and vitamin A (RBP) deficiencies were all very low (<5%); RBP was 10% in children. The prevalence of anemia was unexpectedly low. Inflammation-adjusted zinc deficiency was high among women (52% in SK; 58% in KC), children 6-23 months (23% in SK; 20% in KC), and children 24-59 months (25% in SK; 27% in KC). The rate of biochemical zinc deficiency among Congolese women and children requires attention.

Detection of Hepatozoon canis in stray dogs and cats in Bangkok, Thailand.

PubMed

Jittapalapong, Sathaporn; Rungphisutthipongse, Opart; Maruyama, Soichi; Schaefer, John J; Stich, Roger W

2006-10-01

A rapidly increasing stray animal population in Bangkok has caused concern regarding transmission of vector-borne and zoonotic diseases. The purpose of this study was to determine if stray animals in Bangkok are a potential reservoir of Hepatozoon, a genus of tick-borne parasites that has received little attention in Thailand. Blood samples were collected from stray companion animals near monasteries in 42 Bangkok metropolitan districts. Both dogs and cats were sampled from 26 districts, dogs alone from 4 districts and cats alone from 12 districts. Samples were collected from a total of 308 dogs and 300 cats. Light microscopy and an 18 S rRNA gene-based PCR assay were used to test these samples for evidence of Hepatozoon infection. Gamonts were observed in blood smears for 2.6% of dogs and 0.7% of cats by microscopy. The PCR assay detected Hepatozoon in buffy coats from 11.4% of dogs and 32.3% of cats tested. The prevalence of infection was the same between male and female dogs or cats, and PCR-positive dogs and cats were found in 36.6% and 36.8% of the districts surveyed, respectively. There was an association between the percentages of PCR-positive dogs and cats in districts where both host species were sampled. Sequences of representative amplicons were closest to those reported for H. canis. These results represent the first molecular confirmation that H. canis is indigenous to Thailand. The unexpectedly high prevalence of Hepatozoon among stray cats indicates that their role in the epizootiology of hepatozoonosis should be investigated.

Trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder in South Africa: analysis from the South African Stress and Health Study

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background South Africa’s unique history, characterised by apartheid, a form of constitutional racial segregation and exploitation, and a long period of political violence and state-sponsored oppression ending only in 1994, suggests a high level of trauma exposure in the general population. The aim of this study was to document the epidemiology of trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the South African general population. Methods The South African Stress and Health Study is a nationally representative survey of South African adults using the WHO’s Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) to assess exposure to trauma and presence of DSM-IV mental disorders. Results The most common traumatic events were the unexpected death of a loved one and witnessing trauma occurring to others. Lifetime and 12-month prevalence rates of PTSD were 2.3% and 0.7% respectively, while the conditional prevalence of PTSD after trauma exposure was 3.5%. PTSD conditional risk after trauma exposure and probability of chronicity after PTSD onset were both highest for witnessing trauma. Socio-demographic factors such as sex, age and education were largely unrelated to PTSD risk. Conclusions The occurrence of trauma and PTSD in South Africa is not distributed according to the socio-demographic factors or trauma types observed in other countries. The dominant role of witnessing in contributing to PTSD may reflect the public settings of trauma exposure in South Africa and highlight the importance of political and social context in shaping the epidemiology of PTSD. PMID:23819543

Raman study of CaDNA films as a function of water content and excess CaCl2 concentration: Stability of the B conformation.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schwenker, Megan; Marlowe, Robert; Lee, Scott; Rupprecht, Allan

2006-03-01

Highly oriented, wet-spun films of CaDNA expand in the direction perpendicular to the helical axis as the hydration of the film is increased. CaDNA films with a high CaCl2 content show an unexpected shrinkage at a relative humidity of about 93%. We have performed Raman experiments on CaDNA films as a function of both water content and excess CaCl2 concentration in order to determine if this unexpected shrinkage might be related to a conformational transition of the DNA molecules. We find that the DNA molecules remain in the B conformation for all salt contents down to a relative humidity of 59%.

Current perspectives on the phylogeny of Filoviridae.

PubMed

Barrette, Roger W; Xu, Lizhe; Rowland, Jessica M; McIntosh, Michael T

2011-10-01

Sporadic fatal outbreaks of disease in humans and non-human primates caused by Ebola or Marburg viruses have driven research into the characterization of these viruses with the hopes of identifying host tropisms and potential reservoirs. Such an understanding of the relatedness of newly discovered filoviruses may help to predict risk factors for outbreaks of hemorrhagic disease in humans and/or non-human primates. Recent discoveries such as three distinct genotypes of Reston ebolavirus, unexpectedly discovered in domestic swine in the Philippines; as well as a new species, Bundibugyo ebolavirus; the recent discovery of Lloviu virus as a potential new genus, Cuevavirus, within Filoviridae; and germline integrations of filovirus-like sequences in some animal species bring new insights into the relatedness of filoviruses, their prevalence and potential for transmission to humans. These new findings reveal that filoviruses are more diverse and may have had a greater influence on the evolution of animals than previously thought. Herein we review these findings with regard to the implications for understanding the host range, prevalence and transmission of Filoviridae. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Assessing the prevalence of mycoplasma contamination in cell culture via a survey of NCBI's RNA-seq archive

PubMed Central

Olarerin-George, Anthony O.; Hogenesch, John B.

2015-01-01

Mycoplasmas are notorious contaminants of cell culture and can have profound effects on host cell biology by depriving cells of nutrients and inducing global changes in gene expression. Over the last two decades, sentinel testing has revealed wide-ranging contamination rates in mammalian culture. To obtain an unbiased assessment from hundreds of labs, we analyzed sequence data from 9395 rodent and primate samples from 884 series in the NCBI Sequence Read Archive. We found 11% of these series were contaminated (defined as ≥100 reads/million mapping to mycoplasma in one or more samples). Ninety percent of mycoplasma-mapped reads aligned to ribosomal RNA. This was unexpected given 37% of contaminated series used poly(A)-selection for mRNA enrichment. Lastly, we examined the relationship between mycoplasma contamination and host gene expression in a single cell RNA-seq dataset and found 61 host genes (P < 0.001) were significantly associated with mycoplasma-mapped read counts. In all, this study suggests mycoplasma contamination is still prevalent today and poses substantial risk to research quality. PMID:25712092

The Law of Unexpected Consequences.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moores, Donald F.

2002-01-01

This article explores three controversial issues in the deaf community: genetic engineering, cochlear implants, and high stakes testing for students. It is argued that while some argue high stakes testing raises the expectations for students with deafness, it may leave many students with deafness without high school diplomas. (Contains…

Cardiopulmonary complications during pediatric seizures: A prelude to understanding SUDEP

PubMed Central

Singh, Kanwaljit; Katz, Eliot S.; Zarowski, Marcin; Loddenkemper, Tobias; Llewellyn, Nichelle; Manganaro, Sheryl; Gregas, Matt; Pavlova, Milena; Kothare, Sanjeev V.

2017-01-01

Summary Purpose Sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) is an important, unexplained cause of death in epilepsy. Role of cardiopulmonary abnormalities in the pathophysiology of SUDEP is unclear in the pediatric population. Our objective was to assess cardiopulmonary abnormalities during epileptic seizures in children, with the long-term goal of identifying potential mechanisms of SUDEP. Methods We prospectively recorded cardiopulmonary functions using pulse-oximetry, electrocardiography (ECG), and respiratory inductance plethysmography (RIP). Logistic regression was used to evaluate association of cardiorespiratory findings with seizure characteristics and demographics. Key Findings We recorded 101 seizures in 26 children (average age 3.9 years). RIP provided analyzable data in 78% and pulse-oximetry in 63% seizures. Ictal central apnea was more prevalent in patients with younger age (p = 0.01), temporal lobe (p < 0.001), left-sided (p < 0.01), symptomatic generalized (p = 0.01), longer duration seizures (p < 0.0002), desaturation (p < 0.0001), ictal bradycardia (p < 0.05), and more antiepileptic drugs (AEDs; p < 0.01), and was less prevalent in frontal lobe seizures (p < 0.01). Ictal bradypnea was more prevalent in left-sided (p < 0.05), symptomatic generalized seizures (p < 0.01), and in brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) lesions (p < 0.1). Ictal tachypnea was more prevalent in older-age (p = 0.01), female gender (p = 0.05), frontal lobe (p < 0.05), right-sided seizures (p < 0.001), fewer AEDs (p < 0.01), and less prevalent in lesional (p < 0.05) and symptomatic generalized seizures (p < 0.05). Ictal bradycardia was more prevalent in male patients (p < 0.05) longer duration seizures (p < 0.05), desaturation (p = 0.001), and more AEDs (p < 0.05), and was less prevalent in frontal lobe seizures (p = 0.01). Ictal and postictal bradycardia were directly associated (p < 0.05). Desaturation was more prevalent in longer-duration seizures (p < 0.0001), ictal apnea (p < 0.0001), ictal bradycardia (p = 0.001), and more AEDs (p = 0.001). Significance Potentially life-threatening cardiopulmonary abnormalities such as bradycardia, apnea, and hypoxemia in pediatric epileptic seizures are associated with predictable patient and seizure characteristics, including seizure subtype and duration. PMID:23731396

Anxiety sensitivity and expectation of arousal differentially affect the respiratory response to caffeine.

PubMed

Pané-Farré, Christiane A; Alius, Manuela G; Modeß, Christiane; Methling, Karen; Blumenthal, Terry; Hamm, Alfons O

2015-06-01

This study aimed to test how expectations and anxiety sensitivity influence respiratory and autonomic responses to caffeine. The current study investigated the effects of expected vs. unexpected caffeine ingestion in a group of persons prone to the anxiety-provoking effect of caffeine (high anxiety sensitive persons, that is, persons scoring at least one SD above the mean on the Anxiety Sensitivity Index (Peterson and Reiss 1992)) as compared to low-anxious controls. Autonomic arousal (heart rate, skin conductance level), respiratory responding (expired CO2, minute ventilation), and subjective report were assessed in high and low anxiety sensitive participants immediately after beverage consumption and at absorption peak (30 min post-consumption) in four separate sessions during which either coffee (expectation of caffeine) or bitter lemon soda (no expectation of caffeine) was crossed with 4 mg/kg caffeine vs. no drug. High and low anxiety sensitive persons showed comparable autonomic arousal and symptom reports to caffeine which was modulated by expectation, i.e., greater for coffee. Respiratory responding (CO2 decrease, minute ventilation increase) was more accentuated when caffeine was both expected and administered in the low anxiety sensitive group but more accentuated when caffeine was unexpectedly administered in the high anxiety sensitive group. Autonomic arousal and respiratory effects were observable within a few minutes after caffeine administration and were most pronounced at maximum absorption. The results highlight the modulating role of expectancies in respiratory responding to caffeine in low vs. high anxiety sensitive persons and might have important implications for the better understanding of unexpected panic attacks.

Managing unexpected events in the manufacturing of biologic medicines.

PubMed

Grampp, Gustavo; Ramanan, Sundar

2013-08-01

The manufacturing of biologic medicines (biologics) requires robust process and facility design, rigorous regulatory compliance, and a well-trained workforce. Because of the complex attributes of biologics and their sensitivity to production and handling conditions, manufacturing of these medicines also requires a high-reliability manufacturing organization. As required by regulators, such an organization must monitor the state-of-control for the manufacturing process. A high-reliability organization also invests in an experienced and fully engaged technical support staff and fosters a management culture that rewards in-depth analysis of unexpected results, robust risk assessments, and timely and effective implementation of mitigation measures. Such a combination of infrastructure, technology, human capital, management, and a science-based operations culture does not occur without a strong organizational and financial commitment. These attributes of a high-reliability biologics manufacturer are difficult to achieve and may be differentiating factors as the supply of biologics diversifies in future years.

On the globality of motor suppression: unexpected events and their influence on behavior and cognition

PubMed Central

Wessel, Jan R.; Aron, Adam R.

2016-01-01

SUMMARY Unexpected events are part of everyday experience. They come in several varieties – action errors, unexpected action outcomes, and unexpected perceptual events – and they lead to motor slowing and cognitive distraction. While different varieties of unexpected events have been studied largely independently, and many different mechanisms are thought to explain their effects on action and cognition, we suggest a unifying theory. We propose that unexpected events recruit a fronto-basal-ganglia network for stopping. This network includes specific prefrontal cortical nodes and is posited to project to the subthalamic nucleus, with a putative global suppressive effect on basal-ganglia output. We argue that unexpected events interrupt action and impact cognition, partly at least, by recruiting this global suppressive network. This provides a common mechanistic basis for different types of unexpected events, links the literatures on motor inhibition, performance-monitoring, attention, and working memory, and is relevant for understanding clinical symptoms of distractibility and mental inflexibility. PMID:28103476

On the Globality of Motor Suppression: Unexpected Events and Their Influence on Behavior and Cognition.

PubMed

Wessel, Jan R; Aron, Adam R

2017-01-18

Unexpected events are part of everyday experience. They come in several varieties-action errors, unexpected action outcomes, and unexpected perceptual events-and they lead to motor slowing and cognitive distraction. While different varieties of unexpected events have been studied largely independently, and many different mechanisms are thought to explain their effects on action and cognition, we suggest a unifying theory. We propose that unexpected events recruit a fronto-basal-ganglia network for stopping. This network includes specific prefrontal cortical nodes and is posited to project to the subthalamic nucleus, with a putative global suppressive effect on basal-ganglia output. We argue that unexpected events interrupt action and impact cognition, partly at least, by recruiting this global suppressive network. This provides a common mechanistic basis for different types of unexpected events; links the literatures on motor inhibition, performance monitoring, attention, and working memory; and is relevant for understanding clinical symptoms of distractibility and mental inflexibility. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Characterization of egg laying hen and broiler fecal microbiota in poultry farms in Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovenia.

PubMed

Videnska, Petra; Rahman, Md Masudur; Faldynova, Marcela; Babak, Vladimir; Matulova, Marta Elsheimer; Prukner-Radovcic, Estella; Krizek, Ivan; Smole-Mozina, Sonja; Kovac, Jasna; Szmolka, Ama; Nagy, Bela; Sedlar, Karel; Cejkova, Darina; Rychlik, Ivan

2014-01-01

Poultry meat is the most common protein source of animal origin for humans. However, intensive breeding of animals in confined spaces has led to poultry colonisation by microbiota with a zoonotic potential or encoding antibiotic resistances. In this study we were therefore interested in the prevalence of selected antibiotic resistance genes and microbiota composition in feces of egg laying hens and broilers originating from 4 different Central European countries determined by real-time PCR and 16S rRNA gene pyrosequencing, respectively. strA gene was present in 1 out of 10,000 bacteria. The prevalence of sul1, sul2 and tet(B) in poultry microbiota was approx. 6 times lower than that of the strA gene. tet(A) and cat were the least prevalent being present in around 3 out of 10,000,000 bacteria forming fecal microbiome. The core chicken fecal microbiota was formed by 26 different families. Rather unexpectedly, representatives of Desulfovibrionaceae and Campylobacteraceae, both capable of hydrogen utilisation in complex microbial communities, belonged among core microbiota families. Understanding the roles of individual population members in the total metabolism of the complex community may allow for interventions which might result in the replacement of Campylobacteraceae with Desulfovibrionaceae and a reduction of Campylobacter colonisation in broilers, carcasses, and consequently poultry meat products.

Characterization of Egg Laying Hen and Broiler Fecal Microbiota in Poultry Farms in Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovenia

PubMed Central

Videnska, Petra; Rahman, Md. Masudur; Faldynova, Marcela; Babak, Vladimir; Matulova, Marta Elsheimer; Prukner-Radovcic, Estella; Krizek, Ivan; Smole-Mozina, Sonja; Kovac, Jasna; Szmolka, Ama; Nagy, Bela; Sedlar, Karel; Cejkova, Darina; Rychlik, Ivan

2014-01-01

Poultry meat is the most common protein source of animal origin for humans. However, intensive breeding of animals in confined spaces has led to poultry colonisation by microbiota with a zoonotic potential or encoding antibiotic resistances. In this study we were therefore interested in the prevalence of selected antibiotic resistance genes and microbiota composition in feces of egg laying hens and broilers originating from 4 different Central European countries determined by real-time PCR and 16S rRNA gene pyrosequencing, respectively. strA gene was present in 1 out of 10,000 bacteria. The prevalence of sul1, sul2 and tet(B) in poultry microbiota was approx. 6 times lower than that of the strA gene. tet(A) and cat were the least prevalent being present in around 3 out of 10,000,000 bacteria forming fecal microbiome. The core chicken fecal microbiota was formed by 26 different families. Rather unexpectedly, representatives of Desulfovibrionaceae and Campylobacteraceae, both capable of hydrogen utilisation in complex microbial communities, belonged among core microbiota families. Understanding the roles of individual population members in the total metabolism of the complex community may allow for interventions which might result in the replacement of Campylobacteraceae with Desulfovibrionaceae and a reduction of Campylobacter colonisation in broilers, carcasses, and consequently poultry meat products. PMID:25329397

Superconductivity: Technology meets quantum criticality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zaanen, Jan

2005-09-01

Superconductivity and antiferromagnetism are in fierce competition in high-temperature superconductors. However, this competition has the unexpected benefit that the antiferromagnetism improves the capacity of the superconductor to resist magnetic fields.

Theory of mind for processing unexpected events across contexts.

PubMed

Dungan, James A; Stepanovic, Michael; Young, Liane

2016-08-01

Theory of mind, or mental state reasoning, may be particularly useful for making sense of unexpected events. Here, we investigated unexpected behavior across both social and non-social contexts in order to characterize the precise role of theory of mind in processing unexpected events. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine how people respond to unexpected outcomes when initial expectations were based on (i) an object's prior behavior, (ii) an agent's prior behavior and (iii) an agent's mental states. Consistent with prior work, brain regions for theory of mind were preferentially recruited when people first formed expectations about social agents vs non-social objects. Critically, unexpected vs expected outcomes elicited greater activity in dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, which also discriminated in its spatial pattern of activity between unexpected and expected outcomes for social events. In contrast, social vs non-social events elicited greater activity in precuneus across both expected and unexpected outcomes. Finally, given prior information about an agent's behavior, unexpected vs expected outcomes elicited an especially robust response in right temporoparietal junction, and the magnitude of this difference across participants correlated negatively with autistic-like traits. Together, these findings illuminate the distinct contributions of brain regions for theory of mind for processing unexpected events across contexts. © The Author (2016). Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Unexpected High Digestion Rate of Cooked Starch by the Ct-Maltase-Glucoamylase Small Intestine Mucosal α-Glucosidase Subunit

PubMed Central

Lin, Amy Hui-Mei; Nichols, Buford L.; Quezada-Calvillo, Roberto; Avery, Stephen E.; Sim, Lyann; Rose, David R.; Naim, Hassan Y.; Hamaker, Bruce R.

2012-01-01

For starch digestion to glucose, two luminal α-amylases and four gut mucosal α-glucosidase subunits are employed. The aim of this research was to investigate, for the first time, direct digestion capability of individual mucosal α-glucosidases on cooked (gelatinized) starch. Gelatinized normal maize starch was digested with N- and C-terminal subunits of recombinant mammalian maltase-glucoamylase (MGAM) and sucrase-isomaltase (SI) of varying amounts and digestion periods. Without the aid of α-amylase, Ct-MGAM demonstrated an unexpected rapid and high digestion degree near 80%, while other subunits showed 20 to 30% digestion. These findings suggest that Ct-MGAM assists α-amylase in digesting starch molecules and potentially may compensate for developmental or pathological amylase deficiencies. PMID:22563462

Unexpected high digestion rate of cooked starch by the Ct-maltase-glucoamylase small intestine mucosal α-glucosidase subunit.

PubMed

Lin, Amy Hui-Mei; Nichols, Buford L; Quezada-Calvillo, Roberto; Avery, Stephen E; Sim, Lyann; Rose, David R; Naim, Hassan Y; Hamaker, Bruce R

2012-01-01

For starch digestion to glucose, two luminal α-amylases and four gut mucosal α-glucosidase subunits are employed. The aim of this research was to investigate, for the first time, direct digestion capability of individual mucosal α-glucosidases on cooked (gelatinized) starch. Gelatinized normal maize starch was digested with N- and C-terminal subunits of recombinant mammalian maltase-glucoamylase (MGAM) and sucrase-isomaltase (SI) of varying amounts and digestion periods. Without the aid of α-amylase, Ct-MGAM demonstrated an unexpected rapid and high digestion degree near 80%, while other subunits showed 20 to 30% digestion. These findings suggest that Ct-MGAM assists α-amylase in digesting starch molecules and potentially may compensate for developmental or pathological amylase deficiencies.

Glitch in the gradient: additional education does not uniformly equal better health.

PubMed

Zajacova, Anna; Rogers, Richard G; Johnson-Lawrence, Vicki

2012-12-01

While the relationship between education and general health has been firmly established in the literature, surprisingly little research has analyzed individual components of the global health judgments, such as chronic conditions or pain. We present a systematic account of the health gradient for multiple health outcomes by detailed educational categories among U.S. working-age adults. Using the 1997-2010 National Health Interview Surveys (N = 204,764), we analyze individual health outcomes ranging from cardiovascular disease to vision problems with a series of logistic regression models. The results at the presecondary and baccalaureate levels are consistent with the health gradient. An unexpected finding occurs among adults with some college but no degree, and those with technical/vocational associate degrees: these groups report more pain and a higher prevalence of a broad range of conditions than high school graduates who never attended college. We discuss several explanations for the observed patterns. The findings challenge the broadly accepted educational gradient in health; additionally, the lower postsecondary groups comprise a quarter of American adults. Jointly, there is a clear research and policy impetus to understand the source of this 'glitch' in the health gradient. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Falls Risk and Simulated Driving Performance in Older Adults

PubMed Central

Gaspar, John G.; Neider, Mark B.; Kramer, Arthur F.

2013-01-01

Declines in executive function and dual-task performance have been related to falls in older adults, and recent research suggests that older adults at risk for falls also show impairments on real-world tasks, such as crossing a street. The present study examined whether falls risk was associated with driving performance in a high-fidelity simulator. Participants were classified as high or low falls risk using the Physiological Profile Assessment and completed a number of challenging simulated driving assessments in which they responded quickly to unexpected events. High falls risk drivers had slower response times (~2.1 seconds) to unexpected events compared to low falls risk drivers (~1.7 seconds). Furthermore, when asked to perform a concurrent cognitive task while driving, high falls risk drivers showed greater costs to secondary task performance than did low falls risk drivers, and low falls risk older adults also outperformed high falls risk older adults on a computer-based measure of dual-task performance. Our results suggest that attentional differences between high and low falls risk older adults extend to simulated driving performance. PMID:23509627

Diversity of active aerobic methanotrophs along depth profiles of arctic and subarctic lake water column and sediments

PubMed Central

He, Ruo; Wooller, Matthew J; Pohlman, John W; Quensen, John; Tiedje, James M; Leigh, Mary Beth

2012-01-01

Methane (CH4) emitted from high-latitude lakes accounts for 2–6% of the global atmospheric CH4 budget. Methanotrophs in lake sediments and water columns mitigate the amount of CH4 that enters the atmosphere, yet their identity and activity in arctic and subarctic lakes are poorly understood. We used stable isotope probing (SIP), quantitative PCR (Q-PCR), pyrosequencing and enrichment cultures to determine the identity and diversity of active aerobic methanotrophs in the water columns and sediments (0–25 cm) from an arctic tundra lake (Lake Qalluuraq) on the north slope of Alaska and a subarctic taiga lake (Lake Killarney) in Alaska's interior. The water column CH4 oxidation potential for these shallow (∼2 m deep) lakes was greatest in hypoxic bottom water from the subarctic lake. The type II methanotroph, Methylocystis, was prevalent in enrichment cultures of planktonic methanotrophs from the water columns. In the sediments, type I methanotrophs (Methylobacter, Methylosoma and Methylomonas) at the sediment-water interface (0–1 cm) were most active in assimilating CH4, whereas the type I methanotroph Methylobacter and/or type II methanotroph Methylocystis contributed substantially to carbon acquisition in the deeper (15–20 cm) sediments. In addition to methanotrophs, an unexpectedly high abundance of methylotrophs also actively utilized CH4-derived carbon. This study provides new insight into the identity and activity of methanotrophs in the sediments and water from high-latitude lakes. PMID:22592821

The developmental effects of HIV and alcohol: a comparison of gestational outcomes among babies from South African communities with high prevalence of HIV and alcohol use.

PubMed

Donald, Kirsten A M; Fernandez, Anne; Claborn, Kasey; Kuo, Caroline; Koen, Nastassja; Zar, Heather; Stein, Dan J

2017-05-08

There is growing evidence of the negative impact of alcohol on morbidity and mortality of individuals living with HIV but limited evidence of in utero effects of HIV and alcohol on exposure on infants. We conducted a population-based birth cohort study (N = 667 mother-infant dyads) in South Africa to investigate whether maternal alcohol use and HIV affected gestational outcomes. Descriptive data analysis was conducted for all variables using frequency distributions, measures of central tendency, and estimates of variance. Hierarchical multiple regression was conducted to determine whether maternal alcohol use, maternal HIV status and other risk factors (socioeconomic status, smoking, depression) predicted infant outcomes. Our results showed severity of recent alcohol use and lifetime alcohol use predicted low birth weight. Similarly lifetime alcohol use predicted shorter infant length, smaller head length, smaller head circumference, and early gestational age. However, HIV status was not a significant predictor of gestational outcomes. The unexpected finding that maternal HIV status did not predict any of the gestational outcomes may be due to high rates of ART usage among HIV-infected mothers. The potentially negative effects of HIV on gestational outcomes may have been attenuated by improved maternal health due to high coverage of antiretroviral treatment in South Africa. Interventions are needed to reduce alcohol consumption among pregnant mothers and to support healthy growth and psychosocial development of infants.

Diversity of active aerobic methanotrophs along depth profiles of arctic and subarctic lake water column and sediments

USGS Publications Warehouse

He, Ruo; Wooller, Matthew J.; Pohlman, John W.; Quensen, John; Tiedje, James M.; Leigh, Mary Beth

2012-01-01

Methane (CH4) emitted from high-latitude lakes accounts for 2–6% of the global atmospheric CH4 budget. Methanotrophs in lake sediments and water columns mitigate the amount of CH4 that enters the atmosphere, yet their identity and activity in arctic and subarctic lakes are poorly understood. We used stable isotope probing (SIP), quantitative PCR (Q-PCR), pyrosequencing and enrichment cultures to determine the identity and diversity of active aerobic methanotrophs in the water columns and sediments (0–25 cm) from an arctic tundra lake (Lake Qalluuraq) on the north slope of Alaska and a subarctic taiga lake (Lake Killarney) in Alaska's interior. The water column CH4 oxidation potential for these shallow (~2m deep) lakes was greatest in hypoxic bottom water from the subarctic lake. The type II methanotroph, Methylocystis, was prevalent in enrichment cultures of planktonic methanotrophs from the water columns. In the sediments, type I methanotrophs (Methylobacter, Methylosoma and Methylomonas) at the sediment-water interface (0–1 cm) were most active in assimilating CH4, whereas the type I methanotroph Methylobacter and/or type II methanotroph Methylocystis contributed substantially to carbon acquisition in the deeper (15–20 cm) sediments. In addition to methanotrophs, an unexpectedly high abundance of methylotrophs also actively utilized CH4-derived carbon. This study provides new insight into the identity and activity of methanotrophs in the sediments and water from high-latitude lakes.

Molecular-level analysis of the serum antibody repertoire in young adults before and after seasonal influenza vaccination.

PubMed

Lee, Jiwon; Boutz, Daniel R; Chromikova, Veronika; Joyce, M Gordon; Vollmers, Christopher; Leung, Kwanyee; Horton, Andrew P; DeKosky, Brandon J; Lee, Chang-Han; Lavinder, Jason J; Murrin, Ellen M; Chrysostomou, Constantine; Hoi, Kam Hon; Tsybovsky, Yaroslav; Thomas, Paul V; Druz, Aliaksandr; Zhang, Baoshan; Zhang, Yi; Wang, Lingshu; Kong, Wing-Pui; Park, Daechan; Popova, Lyubov I; Dekker, Cornelia L; Davis, Mark M; Carter, Chalise E; Ross, Ted M; Ellington, Andrew D; Wilson, Patrick C; Marcotte, Edward M; Mascola, John R; Ippolito, Gregory C; Krammer, Florian; Quake, Stephen R; Kwong, Peter D; Georgiou, George

2016-12-01

Molecular understanding of serological immunity to influenza has been confounded by the complexity of the polyclonal antibody response in humans. Here we used high-resolution proteomics analysis of immunoglobulin (referred to as Ig-seq) coupled with high-throughput sequencing of transcripts encoding B cell receptors (BCR-seq) to quantitatively determine the antibody repertoire at the individual clonotype level in the sera of young adults before and after vaccination with trivalent seasonal influenza vaccine. The serum repertoire comprised between 40 and 147 clonotypes that were specific to each of the three monovalent components of the trivalent influenza vaccine, with boosted pre-existing clonotypes accounting for ∼60% of the response. An unexpectedly high fraction of serum antibodies recognized both the H1 and H3 monovalent vaccines. Recombinant versions of these H1 + H3 cross-reactive antibodies showed broad binding to hemagglutinins (HAs) from previously circulating virus strains; several of these antibodies, which were prevalent in the serum of multiple donors, recognized the same conserved epitope in the HA head domain. Although the HA-head-specific H1 + H3 antibodies did not show neutralization activity in vitro, they protected mice against infection with the H1N1 and H3N2 virus strains when administered before or after challenge. Collectively, our data reveal unanticipated insights regarding the serological response to influenza vaccination and raise questions about the added benefits of using a quadrivalent vaccine instead of a trivalent vaccine.

Highly Sensitive Detection and Genotyping of HPV by PCR Multiplex and Luminex Technology in a Cohort of Colombian Women with Abnormal Cytology

PubMed Central

García, Dabeiba A; Cid-Arregui, Angel; Schmitt, Markus; Castillo, Marcos; Briceño, Ignacio; Aristizábal, Fabio A

2011-01-01

Cancer of the uterine cervix (CC) is the second most common cancer in women worldwide. In Colombia, CC is the second most frequent cancer among the entire women population and the first among women aged between 15 and 44 years, with an estimated incidence of 24.9 cases/100,000 inhabitants. The main risk factor is infection with one or more high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) types. The aim of this study was to estimate the genotype-specific prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA in patients with cervical pathology using the multiplex PCR and Luminex xMAP technology. In addition, we compared genotyping with Luminex xMAP and with Reverse Line Blot (RLB). A cohort of 160 patients participated in the study, of which 25.6% had no cervical lesions, 35% presented cervical intraepithelial neoplasia of grade I (CIN I), 10% CIN II, 20.6% CIN III and 8.8% CC. The most frequent viral types in all lesion grades were HPV16 and HPV18. Infections by a unique virus were less frequent (19.4%) than multiple infections (80.6%). Single infections were found in 22% of women with no cervical lesions, and in 14.3% of CIN I, 18.7% CIN II, 21.2% CIN III and 28.6% of CC. Multiple infections were observed in 78.0% of cervical samples with negative histopathologic diagnosis, and in 85.7% of CIN I, 81.2% CIN II, 78.8% CIN III and 71.4% CC. All samples analyzed with Luminex xMAP were HPV-positive, while we could detect HPV in only 48.8% of cases with RLB. Of the samples positive by both methods, there was a 67.2% correlation in the viral type(s) detected. In conclusion, Luminex suspension array showed a remarkably higher sensitivity compared with RLB. Multiple infections were unexpectedly common, being HPV types 16 and 18 the most prevalent in all histopathologic grades. PMID:21769306

Community structure analysis of rejection sensitive personality profiles: A common neural response to social evaluative threat?

PubMed

Kortink, Elise D; Weeda, Wouter D; Crowley, Michael J; Gunther Moor, Bregtje; van der Molen, Melle J W

2018-06-01

Monitoring social threat is essential for maintaining healthy social relationships, and recent studies suggest a neural alarm system that governs our response to social rejection. Frontal-midline theta (4-8 Hz) oscillatory power might act as a neural correlate of this system by being sensitive to unexpected social rejection. Here, we examined whether frontal-midline theta is modulated by individual differences in personality constructs sensitive to social disconnection. In addition, we examined the sensitivity of feedback-related brain potentials (i.e., the feedback-related negativity and P3) to social feedback. Sixty-five undergraduate female participants (mean age = 19.69 years) participated in the Social Judgment Paradigm, a fictitious peer-evaluation task in which participants provided expectancies about being liked/disliked by peer strangers. Thereafter, they received feedback signaling social acceptance/rejection. A community structure analysis was employed to delineate personality profiles in our data. Results provided evidence of two subgroups: one group scored high on attachment-related anxiety and fear of negative evaluation, whereas the other group scored high on attachment-related avoidance and low on fear of negative evaluation. In both groups, unexpected rejection feedback yielded a significant increase in theta power. The feedback-related negativity was sensitive to unexpected feedback, regardless of valence, and was largest for unexpected rejection feedback. The feedback-related P3 was significantly enhanced in response to expected social acceptance feedback. Together, these findings confirm the sensitivity of frontal midline theta oscillations to the processing of social threat, and suggest that this alleged neural alarm system behaves similarly in individuals that differ in personality constructs relevant to social evaluation.

Social, economic, health and environmental determinants of child nutritional status in three Central Asian Republics.

PubMed

Bomela, Nolunkcwe J

2009-10-01

To investigate the comparative effect of social, economic, health and environmental characteristics on the nutritional status of children aged <3 years in Central Asia. Cross-sectional analysis using data from Demographic and Health Surveys. Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. Information on demographic health was gathered by Macro International Inc., Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan governments from a random sample of 14 067 households in the three countries. Anthropometric measurements were performed using standardized procedures on all children <3 years of age (n 2358). Only children with plausible Z-scores (n 1989) were selected for subsequent analyses. The main results indicated that country of residence, number of people in household, household wealth, birth weight, age of child, knowledge of oral rehydration therapy, maternal education, number of children <5 years of age and source of drinking water were strong predictors of child nutritional status in these countries. Furthermore, chronic malnutrition was most prevalent in all three countries but at varied levels. An unexpected finding was that fully vaccinated children were more likely to be malnourished than children who were partially vaccinated. A further unexpected finding was that breast-feeding especially in children >6 months old had a strong negative association with stunting and underweight. In summary, the results from both the descriptive and binary logistic regression analysis are similar in terms of the explanatory variables and the statistical significance in the models.

Comments on "A Closed-Form Solution to Tensor Voting: Theory and Applications".

PubMed

Maggiori, Emmanuel; Lotito, Pablo; Manterola, Hugo Luis; del Fresno, Mariana

2014-12-01

We comment on a paper that describes a closed-form formulation to Tensor Voting, a technique to perceptually group clouds of points, usually applied to infer features in images. The authors proved an analytic solution to the technique, a highly relevant contribution considering that the original formulation required numerical integration, a time-consuming task. Their work constitutes the first closed-form expression for the Tensor Voting framework. In this work we first observe that the proposed formulation leads to unexpected results which do not satisfy the constraints for a Tensor Voting output, hence they cannot be interpreted. Given that the closed-form expression is said to be an analytic equivalent solution, unexpected outputs should not be encountered unless there are flaws in the proof. We analyzed the underlying math to find which were the causes of these unexpected results. In this commentary we show that their proposal does not in fact provide a proper analytic solution to Tensor Voting and we indicate the flaws in the proof.

Variation in the genomic locations and sequence conservation of STAR elements among staphylococcal species provides insight into DNA repeat evolution

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Staphylococcus aureus Repeat (STAR) elements are a type of interspersed intergenic direct repeat. In this study the conservation and variation in these elements was explored by bioinformatic analyses of published staphylococcal genome sequences and through sequencing of specific STAR element loci from a large set of S. aureus isolates. Results Using bioinformatic analyses, we found that the STAR elements were located in different genomic loci within each staphylococcal species. There was no correlation between the number of STAR elements in each genome and the evolutionary relatedness of staphylococcal species, however higher levels of repeats were observed in both S. aureus and S. lugdunensis compared to other staphylococcal species. Unexpectedly, sequencing of the internal spacer sequences of individual repeat elements from multiple isolates showed conservation at the sequence level within deep evolutionary lineages of S. aureus. Whilst individual STAR element loci were demonstrated to expand and contract, the sequences associated with each locus were stable and distinct from one another. Conclusions The high degree of lineage and locus-specific conservation of these intergenic repeat regions suggests that STAR elements are maintained due to selective or molecular forces with some of these elements having an important role in cell physiology. The high prevalence in two of the more virulent staphylococcal species is indicative of a potential role for STAR elements in pathogenesis. PMID:23020678

Role of housing modalities on management and surveillance strategies for adventitious agents of rodents.

PubMed

Shek, William R

2008-01-01

Specific pathogen-free (SPF) rodents for modern biomedical research need to be free of pathogens and other infectious agents that may not produce disease but nevertheless cause research interference. To meet this need, rodents have been rederived to eliminate adventitious agents and then housed in room- to cage-level barrier systems to exclude microbial contaminants. Because barriers can and do fail, routine health monitoring (HM) is necessary to verify the SPF status of colonies. Testing without strict adherence to biosecurity practices, however, can lead to the inadvertent transfer of unrecognized, inapparent agents among institutions and colonies. Microisolation caging systems have become popular for housing SPF rodents because they are versatile and provide a highly effective cage-level barrier to the entry and spread of adventitious agents. But when a microisolation-caged colony is contaminated, the cage-level barrier impedes the spread of infection and so the prevalence of infection is often low, which increases the chance of missing a contamination and complicates the corroboration of unexpected positive findings. The expanding production of genetically engineered mutant (GEM) rodent strains at research institutions, where biosecurity practices vary and the risk of microbial contamination can be high, underscores the importance of accurate HM results in mitigating the risk of the introduction and spread of microbial contaminants with the exchange of mutant rodent strains among investigators and institutions.

Unusually high genetic diversity in COI sequences of Chimarra obscura (Trichoptera: Philopotamidae)

EPA Science Inventory

Chimarra obscura (Walker 1852) is a philopotamid caddisfly found throughout much of North America. Using the COI DNA barcode locus, we have found unexpectedly high amounts of genetic diversity and distances within C. obscura. Of the approximately 150 specimens sampled, we have fo...

Effects of anxiety sensitivity and expectations on the modulation of the startle eyeblink response during a caffeine challenge.

PubMed

Benke, Christoph; Blumenthal, Terry D; Modeß, Christiane; Hamm, Alfons O; Pané-Farré, Christiane A

2015-09-01

The way in which the tendency to fear somatic arousal sensations (anxiety sensitivity), in interaction with the created expectations regarding arousal induction, might affect defensive responding to a symptom provocation challenge is not yet understood. The present study investigated the effect of anxiety sensitivity on autonomic arousal, startle eyeblink responses, and reported arousal and alertness to expected vs. unexpected caffeine consumption. To create a match/mismatch of expected and experienced arousal, high and low anxiety sensitive participants received caffeine vs. no drug either mixed in coffee (expectation of arousal induction) or in bitter lemon soda (no expectation of arousal induction) on four separate occasions. Autonomic arousal (heart rate, skin conductance level), respiration (end-tidal CO2, minute ventilation), defensive reflex responses (startle eyeblink), and reported arousal and alertness were recorded prior to, immediately and 30 min after beverage ingestion. Caffeine increased ventilation, autonomic arousal, and startle response magnitudes. Both groups showed comparable levels of autonomic and respiratory responses. The startle eyeblink responses were decreased when caffeine-induced arousal occurred unexpectedly, e.g., after administering caffeine in bitter lemon. This effect was more accentuated in high anxiety sensitive persons. Moreover, in high anxiety sensitive persons, the expectation of arousal (coffee consumption) led to higher subjective alertness when administering caffeine and increased arousal even if no drug was consumed. Unexpected symptom provocation leads to increased attention allocation toward feared arousal sensations in high anxiety sensitive persons. This finding broadens our understanding of modulatory mechanisms in defensive responding to bodily symptoms.

High-Dose Citalopram and Escitalopram and the Risk of Out-of-Hospital Death.

PubMed

Ray, Wayne A; Chung, Cecilia P; Murray, Katherine T; Hall, Kathi; Stein, C Michael

2017-02-01

Studies demonstrating that higher doses of citalopram (> 40 mg) and escitalopram (> 20 mg) prolong the corrected QT interval prompted regulatory agency warnings, which are controversial, given the absence of confirmatory clinical outcome studies. We compared the risk of potential arrhythmia-related deaths for high doses of these selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) to that for equivalent doses of fluoxetine, paroxetine, and sertraline. The Tennessee Medicaid retrospective cohort study included 54,220 persons 30-74 years of age without cancer or other life-threatening illness who were prescribed high-dose SSRIs from 1998 through 2011. The mean age was 47 years, and 76% were female. Demographic characteristics and comorbidity for individual SSRIs were comparable. Because arrhythmia-related deaths are typically sudden and occur outside the hospital, we analyzed out-of-hospital sudden unexpected death as well as sudden cardiac deaths, a more specific indicator of proarrhythmic effects. The adjusted risk of sudden unexpected death for citalopram did not differ significantly from that for the other SSRIs. The respective hazard ratios (HRs) for citalopram versus escitalopram, fluoxetine, paroxetine, and sertraline were 0.84 (95% CI, 0.40-1.75), 1.24 (95% CI, 0.75-2.05), 0.75 (95% CI, 0.45-1.24), and 1.53 (95% CI, 0.91-2.55). There were no significant differences for sudden cardiac death or all study deaths, nor were there significant differences among high-risk patients (≥ 60 years of age, upper quartile baseline cardiovascular risk). Escitalopram users had no significantly increased risk for any study end point. We found no evidence that risk of sudden unexpected death, sudden cardiac death, or total mortality for high-dose citalopram and escitalopram differed significantly from that for comparable doses of fluoxetine, paroxetine, and sertraline. © Copyright 2016 Physicians Postgraduate Press, Inc.

High-Dose Citalopram and Escitalopram and the Risk of Out-of-Hospital Death

PubMed Central

Ray, Wayne A.; Chung, Cecilia P.; Murray, Katherine T.; Hall, Kathi; Stein, C. Michael

2018-01-01

Objective Studies demonstrating higher doses of citalopram (>40mg) and escitalopram (>20mg) prolong the QTc interval prompted regulatory agency warnings, which are controversial, given the absence of confirmatory clinical outcome studies. We compared the risk of potential arrhythmia-related deaths for high doses of these SSRIs to that for equivalent doses of fluoxetine, paroxetine, and sertraline. Method The Tennessee Medicaid retrospective cohort study included 54,220 persons 30–74 years of age without cancer or other life-threatening illness prescribed high-dose SSRIs. The mean age was 47 years and 76% were female. Demographic characteristics and comorbidity for individual SSRIs were comparable. Because arrhythmia-related deaths are typically sudden and occur outside the hospital, we analyzed out-of-hospital sudden unexpected death as well as sudden cardiac deaths, a more specific indicator of pro-arrhythmic effects. Results The adjusted risk of sudden unexpected death for citalopram did not differ significantly from that for the other SSRIs. The respective hazard ratios (HRs) for citalopram versus escitalopram, fluoxetine, paroxetine, and sertraline were 0.84 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.40–1.75), 1.24 (0.75–2.05), 0.75 (0.45–1.24), and 1.53 (0.91–2.55). There were no significant differences for sudden cardiac death or all study deaths, nor were there significant differences among high-risk patients (≥60 years of age, upper quartile baseline cardiovascular risk). Escitalopram users had no significantly increased risk for any study endpoint. Conclusions We found no evidence that risk of sudden unexpected death, sudden cardiac death, or total mortality for high-dose citalopram and escitalopram differed significantly from that for comparable doses of fluoxetine, paroxetine, and sertraline. PMID:27736049

The Third Replicon of Members of the Burkholderia cepacia Complex, Plasmid pC3, Plays a Role in Stress Tolerance

PubMed Central

Agnoli, Kirsty; Frauenknecht, Carmen; Freitag, Roman; Schwager, Stephan; Jenul, Christian; Vergunst, Annette; Carlier, Aurelien

2014-01-01

The metabolically versatile Burkholderia cepacia complex (Bcc) occupies a variety of niches, including the plant rhizosphere and the cystic fibrosis lung (where it is often fatal to the patient). Bcc members have multipartite genomes, of which the third replicon, pC3 (previously chromosome 3), has been shown to be a nonessential megaplasmid which confers virulence and both antifungal and proteolytic activity on several strains. In this study, pC3 curing was extended to cover strains of 16 of the 17 members of the Bcc, and the phenotypes conferred by pC3 were determined. B. cenocepacia strains H111, MCO-3, and HI2424 were previously cured of pC3; however, this had not proved possible in the epidemic strain K56-2. Here, we investigated the mechanism of this unexpected stability and found that efficient toxin-antitoxin systems are responsible for maintaining pC3 of strain K56-2. Identification of these systems allowed neutralization of the toxins and the subsequent deletion of K56-2pC3. The cured strain was found to exhibit reduced antifungal activity and was attenuated in both the zebrafish and the Caenorhabditis elegans model of infection. We used a PCR screening method to examine the prevalence of pC3 within 110 Bcc isolates and found that this replicon was absent in only four cases, suggesting evolutionary fixation. It is shown that plasmid pC3 increases the resistance of B. cenocepacia H111 to various stresses (oxidative, osmotic, high-temperature, and chlorhexidine-induced stresses), explaining the prevalence of this replicon within the Bcc. PMID:24334662

Linking quantitative microbial risk assessment and epidemiological data: informing safe drinking water trials in developing countries.

PubMed

Enger, Kyle S; Nelson, Kara L; Clasen, Thomas; Rose, Joan B; Eisenberg, Joseph N S

2012-05-01

Intervention trials are used extensively to assess household water treatment (HWT) device efficacy against diarrheal disease in developing countries. Using these data for policy, however, requires addressing issues of generalizability (relevance of one trial in other contexts) and systematic bias associated with design and conduct of a study. To illustrate how quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) can address water safety and health issues, we analyzed a published randomized controlled trial (RCT) of the LifeStraw Family Filter in the Congo. The model accounted for bias due to (1) incomplete compliance with filtration, (2) unexpected antimicrobial activity by the placebo device, and (3) incomplete recall of diarrheal disease. Effectiveness was measured using the longitudinal prevalence ratio (LPR) of reported diarrhea. The Congo RCT observed an LPR of 0.84 (95% CI: 0.61, 1.14). Our model predicted LPRs, assuming a perfect placebo, ranging from 0.50 (2.5-97.5 percentile: 0.33, 0.77) to 0.86 (2.5-97.5 percentile: 0.68, 1.09) for high (but not perfect) and low (but not zero) compliance, respectively. The calibration step provided estimates of the concentrations of three pathogen types (modeled as diarrheagenic E. coli, Giardia, and rotavirus) in drinking water, consistent with the longitudinal prevalence of reported diarrhea measured in the trial, and constrained by epidemiological data from the trial. Use of a QMRA model demonstrated the importance of compliance in HWT efficacy, the need for pathogen data from source waters, the effect of quantifying biases associated with epidemiological data, and the usefulness of generalizing the effectiveness of HWT trials to other contexts. © 2012 American Chemical Society

Analysis of the entire genomes of torque teno midi virus variants in chimpanzees: infrequent cross-species infection between humans and chimpanzees.

PubMed

Ninomiya, Masashi; Takahashi, Masaharu; Hoshino, Yu; Ichiyama, Koji; Simmonds, Peter; Okamoto, Hiroaki

2009-02-01

Humans are frequently infected with three anelloviruses which have circular DNA genomes of 3.6-3.9 kb [Torque teno virus (TTV)], 2.8-2.9 kb [Torque teno mini virus (TTMV)] and 3.2 kb [a recently discovered anellovirus named Torque teno midi virus (TTMDV)]. Unexpectedly, human TTMDV DNA was not detectable in any of 74 chimpanzees tested, although all but one tested positive for both human TTV and TTMV DNA. Using universal primers for anelloviruses, novel variants of TTMDV that are phylogenetically clearly separate from human TTMDV were identified from chimpanzees, and over the entire genome, three chimpanzee TTMDV variants differed by 17.9-20.3 % from each other and by 40.4-43.6 % from all 18 reported human TTMDVs. A newly developed PCR assay that uses chimpanzee TTMDV-specific primers revealed the high prevalence of chimpanzee TTMDV in chimpanzees (63/74, 85 %) but low prevalence in humans (1/100). While variants of TTV and TTMV from chimpanzees and humans were phylogenetically interspersed, those of TTMDV were monophyletic for each species, with sequence diversity of <33 and <20 % within the 18 human and three chimpanzee TTMDV variants, respectively. Maximum within-group divergence values for TTV and TTMV were 51 and 57 %, respectively; both of these values were substantially greater than the maximum divergence among TTMDV variants (44 %), consistent with a later evolutionary emergence of TTMDV. However, substantiation of this hypothesis will require further analysis of genetic diversity using an expanded dataset of TTMDV variants in humans and chimpanzees. Similarly, the underlying mechanism of observed infrequent cross-species infection of TTMDV between humans and chimpanzees deserves further analysis.

DNA Alkylating Agent Protects Against Spontaneous Hepatocellular Carcinoma Regardless of O6-Methylguanine-DNA Methyltransferase Status.

PubMed

Herzig, Maryanne C S; Zavadil, Jessica A; Street, Karah; Hildreth, Kim; Drinkwater, Norman R; Reddick, Traci; Herbert, Damon C; Hanes, Martha A; McMahan, C Alex; Reddick, Robert L; Walter, Christi A

2016-03-01

Hepatocellular carcinoma is increasingly important in the United States as the incidence rate rose over the last 30 years. C3HeB/FeJ mice serve as a unique model to study hepatocellular carcinoma tumorigenesis because they mimic human hepatocellular carcinoma with delayed onset, male gender bias, approximately 50% incidence, and susceptibility to tumorigenesis is mediated through multiple genetic loci. Because a human O(6)-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (hMGMT) transgene reduces spontaneous tumorigenesis in this model, we hypothesized that hMGMT would also protect from methylation-induced hepatocarcinogenesis. To test this hypothesis, wild-type and hMGMT transgenic C3HeB/FeJ male mice were treated with two monofunctional alkylating agents: diethylnitrosamine (DEN; 0.025 μmol/g body weight) on day 12 of life with evaluation for glucose-6-phosphatase-deficient (G6PD) foci at 16, 24, and 32 weeks or N-methyl-N-nitrosurea (MNU; 25 mg MNU/kg body weight) once monthly for 7 months starting at 3 months of age with evaluation for liver tumors at 12 to 15 months of age. No difference in abundance or size of G6PD foci was measured with DEN treatment. In contrast, it was unexpectedly found that MNU reduces liver tumor prevalence in wild-type and hMGMT transgenic mice despite increased tumor prevalence in other tissues. hMGMT and MNU protections were additive, suggesting that MNU protects through a different mechanism, perhaps through the cytotoxic N7-alkylguanine and N3-alkyladenine lesions which have low mutagenic potential compared with O(6)-alkylguanine lesions. Together, these results suggest that targeting the repair of cytotoxic lesions may be a good preventative for patients at high risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma. ©2015 American Association for Cancer Research.

ELEMENTAL MERCURY IN COPPER, SILVER, AND GOLD ORES: AN UNEXPECTED CONTRIBUTION TO LAKE SUPERIOR SEDIMENTS WITH GLOBAL IMPLICATIONS

EPA Science Inventory

Mercury and copper inventories are low in central Lake Superior and increase markedly towards the Keweenaw Peninsula...where copper, mercury, and silver inventories are elevated and highly correlated. High copper, silver, and mercury inventories can be traced back to shoreline st...

"It's Being Done": Academic Success in Unexpected Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chenoweth, Karin

2007-01-01

This straightforward and inspiring book takes readers into schools where educators believe--and prove--that all children, even those considered "hard-to-teach," can learn to high standards. Their teachers and principals refuse to write them off and instead show how thoughtful instruction, high expectations, stubborn commitment, and…

Unexpected Events Induce Motor Slowing via a Brain Mechanism for Action-Stopping with Global Suppressive Effects

PubMed Central

Aron, Adam R.

2013-01-01

When an unexpected event occurs in everyday life (e.g., a car honking), one experiences a slowing down of ongoing action (e.g., of walking into the street). Motor slowing following unexpected events is a ubiquitous phenomenon, both in laboratory experiments as well as such everyday situations, yet the underlying mechanism is unknown. We hypothesized that unexpected events recruit the same inhibition network in the brain as does complete cancellation of an action (i.e., action-stopping). Using electroencephalography and independent component analysis in humans, we show that a brain signature of successful outright action-stopping also exhibits activity following unexpected events, and more so in blocks with greater motor slowing. Further, using transcranial magnetic stimulation to measure corticospinal excitability, we show that an unexpected event has a global motor suppressive effect, just like outright action-stopping. Thus, unexpected events recruit a common mechanism with outright action-stopping, moreover with global suppressive effects. These findings imply that we can now leverage the considerable extant knowledge of the neural architecture and functional properties of the stopping system to better understand the processing of unexpected events, including perhaps how they induce distraction via global suppression. PMID:24259571

2. GORGE HIGH DAM. UNUSUALLY HIGH WATER IN GORGE LAKE ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

2. GORGE HIGH DAM. UNUSUALLY HIGH WATER IN GORGE LAKE DUE TO THE COMBINATION OF UNIT 24 BEING DOWN FOR REWINDING AND TWO UNITS COMING ON LINE UNEXPECTEDLY AT ROSS POWERHOUSE LED TO WATER FLOWING OVER THE SPILLGATES. EACH GATE IF 47 FEET WIDE AND 50 FEET HIGH, 1989. - Skagit Power Development, Gorge High Dam, On Skagit River, 2.9 miles upstream from Newhalem, Newhalem, Whatcom County, WA

Harnessing complex emergent metaphors for effective communication in palliative care: a multimodal perceptual analysis of hospice patients' reports of transcendence experiences.

PubMed

Arnold, Bruce L; Lloyd, Linda S

2014-05-01

Terminally ill patients can have unexpected, enigmatic, and profound cognitive shifts that significantly alter their perception of themselves, thereby eliminating their fear of death and dying. However, there are no systematic studies into these remarkable yet ineffable transcendence experiences. They therefore remain easily overlooked or viewed as isolated anomalies and therefore excluded from quality-of-life patient considerations. We use a multimodal methodology for identifying the prevalence and thematic properties of complex emergent metaphors patients use to report these experiences. Although previous research has pioneered the importance of understanding conventional or primary metaphors at the end of life, our findings indicate the considerable potential of more complex metaphors for reducing barriers to effective communication in palliative care.

How Should Medical Schools Respond to Students with Dyslexia?

PubMed

Romberg, Frederick; Shaywitz, Bennett A; Shaywitz, Sally E

2016-10-01

We examine the dilemmas faced by a medical student with dyslexia who wonders whether he should "out" himself to faculty to receive the accommodations entitled by federal law. We first discuss scientific evidence on dyslexia's prevalence, unexpected nature, and neurobiology. We then examine the experiences of medical students who have revealed their dyslexia to illustrate the point that, far too often, attending physicians who know little about dyslexia can misperceive the motives or behavior of students with dyslexia. Because ignorance and misperception of dyslexia can result in bias against students with dyslexia, we strongly recommend a mandatory course for faculty that provides a basic scientific and clinical overview of dyslexia to facilitate greater understanding of dyslexia and support for students with dyslexia. © 2016 American Medical Association. All Rights Reserved.

Deconstructing Pancreas Developmental Biology

PubMed Central

Benitez, Cecil M.; Goodyer, William R.

2012-01-01

The relentless nature and increasing prevalence of human pancreatic diseases, in particular, diabetes mellitus and adenocarcinoma, has motivated further understanding of pancreas organogenesis. The pancreas is a multifunctional organ whose epithelial cells govern a diversity of physiologically vital endocrine and exocrine functions. The mechanisms governing the birth, differentiation, morphogenesis, growth, maturation, and maintenance of the endocrine and exocrine components in the pancreas have been discovered recently with increasing tempo. This includes recent studies unveiling mechanisms permitting unexpected flexibility in the developmental potential of immature and mature pancreatic cell subsets, including the ability to interconvert fates. In this article, we describe how classical cell biology, genetic analysis, lineage tracing, and embryological investigations are being complemented by powerful modern methods including epigenetic analysis, time-lapse imaging, and flow cytometry-based cell purification to dissect fundamental processes of pancreas development. PMID:22587935

Prevalence and Axis I Comorbidity of Full and Partial Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in the United States: Results from Wave 2 of the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions

PubMed Central

Pietrzak, Robert H.; Goldstein, Risë B.; Southwick, Steven M.; Grant, Bridget F.

2010-01-01

The present study used data from the Wave 2 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (n=34,653) to examine lifetime Axis I psychiatric comorbidity of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in a nationally representative sample of U.S. adults. Lifetime prevalences±standard errors of PTSD and partial PTSD were 6.4%±0.18 and 6.6%±0.18, respectively. Rates of PTSD and partial PTSD were higher among women (8.6%±0.26 and 8.6%±0.26) than men (4.1%±0.19 and 4.5%±0.21). Respondents with both PTSD and partial PTSD most commonly reported unexpected death of someone close, serious illness or injury to someone close, and sexual assault as their worst stressful experiences. PTSD and partial PTSD were associated with elevated lifetime rates of mood, anxiety, and substance use disorders, and suicide attempts. Respondents with partial PTSD generally had intermediate odds of comorbid Axis I disorders and psychosocial impairment relative to trauma controls and full PTSD. PMID:21168991

The role of echocardiography in the evaluation of cardiac re-modelling and differentiation between physiological and pathological hypertrophy in teenagers engaged in competitive amateur sports.

PubMed

Sulovic, Ljiljana S; Mahmutovic, Meho; Lazic, Snezana; Sulovic, Nenad

2017-05-01

Aims "Athlete's heart" is a cardiac adaptation to long-term intensive training. The aims of this study were to show the prevalence of left ventricular hypertrophy in teenagers who participate in sports, to define the different types of cardiac re-modelling, and to differentiate between physiological and pathological hypertrophy. Echocardiographic measurements were obtained by M-mode, two dimensional, and Doppler techniques of participants from sports and control groups. The echocardiographic examinations included 100 healthy teenagers taking part in dynamic sports such as football and basketball and 100 healthy teenagers taking part in static sports such as karate and judo. The control group (n=100) included healthy, sedentary teenagers. Sports participants had significantly higher left ventricular mass when compared with the control group, (p0.05). Respondents from both groups had E/A ratios (transmitral flow velocity ratio)>1, preserved diastolic function, and statistically they did not differ from the control group. Echocardiographic parameters show that physiological hypertrophy and cardiac re-modelling are present in teenagers who play sports. Unexpectedly, the prevalence of concentric and eccentric types of re-modelling is equally possible in the group of static sports participants.

An examination of sudden acceleration

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1989-01-01

This report describes the results of a study to identify and evaluate factors which could potentially cause or contribute to the occurrence of "Sudden Acceleration Incidents" (SAI). SAI are defined in this report as unintended, unexpected, high-power...

Mental illness and suicidality after Hurricane Katrina.

PubMed Central

Kessler, Ronald C.; Galea, Sandro; Jones, Russell T.; Parker, Holly A.

2006-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the impact of Hurricane Katrina on mental illness and suicidality by comparing results of a post-Katrina survey with those of an earlier survey. METHODS: The National Comorbidity Survey-Replication, conducted between February 2001 and February 2003, interviewed 826 adults in the Census Divisions later affected by Hurricane Katrina. The post-Katrina survey interviewed a new sample of 1043 adults who lived in the same area before the hurricane. Identical questions were asked about mental illness and suicidality. The post-Katrina survey also assessed several dimensions of personal growth that resulted from the trauma (for example, increased closeness to a loved one, increased religiosity). Outcome measures used were the K6 screening scale of serious mental illness and mild-moderate mental illness and questions about suicidal ideation, plans and attempts. FINDINGS: Respondents to the post-Katrina survey had a significantly higher estimated prevalence of serious mental illness than respondents to the earlier survey (11.3% after Katrina versus 6.1% before; chi(2)1= 10.9; P < 0.001) and mild-moderate mental illness (19.9% after Katrina versus 9.7% before; chi(2)1 = 22.5; P < 0.001). Among respondents estimated to have mental illness, though, the prevalence of suicidal ideation and plans was significantly lower in the post-Katrina survey (suicidal ideation 0.7% after Katrina versus 8.4% before; chi(2)1 = 13.1; P < 0.001; plans for suicide 0.4% after Katrina versus 3.6% before; chi(2)1 = 6.0; P = 0.014). This lower conditional prevalence of suicidality was strongly related to two dimensions of personal growth after the trauma (faith in one's own ability to rebuild one's life, and realization of inner strength), without which between-survey differences in suicidality were insignificant. CONCLUSION: Despite the estimated prevalence of mental illness doubling after Hurricane Katrina, the prevalence of suicidality was unexpectedly low. The role of post-traumatic personal growth in ameliorating the effects of trauma-related mental illness on suicidality warrants further investigation. PMID:17242828

The moderating effects of coping strategies on major depression in the general population.

PubMed

Wang, JianLi; Patten, Scott B

2002-03-01

To evaluate the moderating effects of various coping strategies on the association between stressors and the prevalence of major depression in the general population. Subjects from the Alberta buy-in component of the 1994-1995 National Population Health Survey (NPHS) were included in the analysis (n = 1039). Each subject was asked 8 questions about coping strategies that dealt with unexpected stress from family problems and personal crises. Major depression was measured using the World Health Organization's (WHO) Composite International Diagnostic Interview-Short Form (CIDI-SF) for major depression. The impacts of coping strategies in relation to psychological stressors on the prevalence of major depression were determined by examining interactions between coping and life stress on major depression using logistic regression modelling. No robust impact of coping strategies in relation to various categories of stress evaluated in the NPHS was observed. There was evidence that the use of "pray and seek religious help" and "talks to others about the situations" as coping strategies by women moderated the risk of major depression in the presence of financial stress and relationship stress (with a partner). Using emotional expression as a coping strategy by women might decrease the risk of major depression in the presence of 1 or more recent life events, personal stress, relationship stress (with a partner), and environmental stress. Different coping strategies may have a differential impact on the prevalence of major depression in specific circumstances. These findings may be important both to prevent and to treat depressive disorders.

Anxiety and the Processing of Emotionally Threatening Stimuli: Distinctive Patterns of Selective Attention among High- and Low-Test-Anxious Children.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vasey, Michael W.; And Others

1996-01-01

Tested for bias toward shifting attention toward threatening stimuli among high-anxious children and away from such stimuli among low-anxious children, ages 11-14. Results supported the predicted attentional bias toward threat cues among high-test-anxious children. Unexpectedly, the predicted attentional bias away from threat cues among…

Problems due to superheating of cryogenic liquids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hands, B. A.

1988-12-01

Superheating can cause several problems in the storage of cryogenic liquids: stratification can cause unexpectedly high tank pressures or, in multicomponent liquids, rollover with its consequential high vaporization rate; geysering causes the rapid expulsion of static liquid from a vertical tube; chugging is a similar phenomenon observed when liquid flows through a reasonably well-insulated pipe.

Preparing to "Not" Be a Footballer: Higher Education and Professional Sport

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hickey, Christopher; Kelly, Peter

2008-01-01

In the commercialised and professionalised world of elite sport, issues associated with career pathways and post sporting career options have a particular resonance. In various football codes, an unexpected knock, twist, bend or break can profoundly impact a player's career. In this high risk and high consequence environment, a number of sports…

Searching for hidden unexpected features in the SnIa data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shafieloo, A.; Perivolaropoulos, L.

2010-06-01

It is known that κ2 statistic and likelihood analysis may not be sensitive to the all features of the data. Despite of the fact that by using κ2 statistic we can measure the overall goodness of fit for a model confronted to a data set, some specific features of the data can stay undetectable. For instance, it has been pointed out that there is an unexpected brightness of the SnIa data at z > 1 in the Union compilation. We quantify this statement by constructing a new statistic, called Binned Normalized Difference (BND) statistic, which is applicable directly on the Type Ia Supernova (SnIa) distance moduli. This statistic is designed to pick up systematic brightness trends of SnIa data points with respect to a best fit cosmological model at high redshifts. According to this statistic there are 2.2%, 5.3% and 12.6% consistency between the Gold06, Union08 and Constitution09 data and spatially flat ΛCDM model when the real data is compared with many realizations of the simulated monte carlo datasets. The corresponding realization probability in the context of a (w0,w1) = (-1.4,2) model is more than 30% for all mentioned datasets indicating a much better consistency for this model with respect to the BND statistic. The unexpected high z brightness of SnIa can be interpreted either as a trend towards more deceleration at high z than expected in the context of ΛCDM or as a statistical fluctuation or finally as a systematic effect perhaps due to a mild SnIa evolution at high z.

Anaemia among children in a drought affected community in south-central Ethiopia

PubMed Central

Loha, Eskindir; Deressa, Wakgari; Solomon, Tarekegn; Atsbeha, Hanibale; Assegid, Meselech; Hailu, Alemayehu; Lindtjørn, Bernt

2017-01-01

Introduction As part of a field trial (PACTR201411000882128) to provide evidence on the combined use of long-lasting insecticidal nets and indoor residual spray for malaria prevention, we measured haemoglobin values among children aged 6 to 59 months. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of anaemia, and to determine the risk factors of anaemia and change in haemoglobin value in Adami Tullu district in south-central Ethiopia. Methods Repeated cross-sectional surveys among 2984 children in 2014 and 3128 children in 2015; and a cohort study (malaria as exposure and anaemia as outcome variable) were conducted. The study area faced severe drought and food shortages in 2015. Anaemia was diagnosed using HemoCue Hb 301, and children with haemoglobin <11 g/dl were classified as anaemic. Multilevel and Cox regression models were applied to assess predictors of anaemia. Results The prevalence of anaemia was 28.2% [95% Confidence Interval (CI), 26.6–29.8] in 2014 and increased to 36.8% (95% CI, 35.1–38.5) in 2015 (P<0.001). The incidence of anaemia was 30; (95% CI, 28–32) cases per 100 children years of observation. The risk of anaemia was high (adjusted Hazard Ratio = 10) among children with malaria. Children from poor families [Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR); 1.3; 95% CI, 1.1–1.6)], stunted children (AOR 1.5; 95% CI; 1.2–1.8), and children aged less than 36 months (AOR; 2.0; 95% CI, 1.6–2.4) were at risk of anaemia compared to their counterparts. There was no significant difference in risk of anaemia among the trial arms. Conclusions Young age, stunting, malaria and poverty were the main predictors of anaemia. An increase in the prevalence of anaemia was observed over a year, despite malaria prevention effort, which could be related to the drought and food shortage. Therefore, conducting trials in settings prone to drought and famine may bring unexpected challenges. PMID:28291790

Driving performance changes of middle-aged experienced taxi drivers due to distraction tasks during unexpected situations.

PubMed

Kim, Hyung-Sik; Choi, Mi-Hyun; Choi, Jin-Seung; Kim, Hyun-Joo; Hong, Sang-Pyo; Jun, Jae-Hoon; Tack, Gye-Rae; Kim, Boseong; Min, Ung-Chan; Lim, Dae-Woon; Chung, Soon-Cheol

2013-10-01

This study investigated the effects of distraction taskssuch as sending a text message with a cellphone and searching navigation with car navigation system-on the driving performance of 29 highly experienced taxi drivers in their 50s. All participants were instructed to drive using a driving simulator for 2 min. while maintaining a constant distance from the vehicle in front and a constant speed. Participants drove without any distractions for the first minute. For an additional minute, they performed Driving Only or performed a task while driving (Driving + Sending Text Message or Driving + Searching Navigation). An unexpected situation, in which the participant had to stop abruptly due to a sudden stop of the preceding vehicle, occurred during this period. Driving performance during the unexpected situation was evaluated by car control variables, medial-lateral coefficient of variation and brake time, and by motion variables such as the jerk-cost function. Compared to Driving Only, jerk-cost function, medial-lateral coefficient of variation, and brake time increased during Driving + Sending Text Message or Driving + Searching Navigation.

Unexpected inhibition of CO 2 gas hydrate formation in dilute TBAB solutions and the critical role of interfacial water structure

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Nguyen, Ngoc N.; Nguyen, Anh V.; Nguyen, Khoi T.

Gas hydrates formed under moderated conditions open up novel approaches to tackling issues related to energy supply, gas separation, and CO 2 sequestration. Several additives like tetra-n-butylammonium bromide (TBAB) have been empirically developed and used to promote gas hydrate formation. Here we report unexpected experimental results which show that TBAB inhibits CO 2 gas hydrate formation when used at minuscule concentration. We also used spectroscopic techniques and molecular dynamics simulation to gain further insights and explain the experimental results. They have revealed the critical role of water alignment at the gas-water interface induced by surface adsorption of tetra-n-butylammonium cation (TBAmore » +) which gives rise to the unexpected inhibition of dilute TBAB solution. The water perturbation by TBA + in the bulk is attributed to the promotion effect of high TBAB concentration on gas hydrate formation. We explain our finding using the concept of activation energy of gas hydrate formation. Our results provide a step toward to mastering the control of gas hydrate formation.« less

Willingness and ability to pay for unexpected dental expenses by Finnish adults

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Since 2002, adults have been able to choose oral health care services in the public sector or in the private sector in Finland. Though various subsidies for care exist in both sectors, the Public Dental Service (PDS) is a cheaper option for the patient but, on the other hand, there are no waiting lists for private care. The aim of this study was to assess middle-aged adults' use of dental services, willingness to pay (WTP) and ability to pay (ATP) for unexpected, urgent dental treatment. Methods Postal questionnaires on use of dental services were sent to a random sample of 1500 47-59 year old adults living in three large municipalities in the Helsinki region. The initial response rate was 65.8%. Two hypothetical scenarios were presented: "What would be the highest price you would be prepared to pay to have a lost filling replaced immediately, or, at the latest, the day after losing the filling?" and " How much could you pay for unexpected dental expenses at two weeks notice, if you suddenly needed more comprehensive treatment?" Logistic regression analysis was used to analyse factors related to WTP and ATP. Results Most respondents (89.6%) had visited a dentist recently and a majority (76.1%) had used private services. For immediate replacement of a lost filling, almost all respondents (93.2%) were willing to pay the lower price charged in the PDS and 46.2% were willing to pay the private fee. High income and no subjective need for dental treatment were positively associated with the probability of paying a higher price. Most respondents (93.0%) were able to pay a low fee, EUR 50 and almost half (41.6%) at least EUR 300 for unexpected treatment at short notice. High income and male sex were associated with high ATP. Conclusion There was a strong and statistically significant relationship between income and WTP and ATP for urgent dental care, indicating that access to publicly provided services improved equity for persons with low income. PMID:22935077

Unexpected angular or rotational deformity after corrective osteotomy

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Codman’s paradox reveals a misunderstanding of geometry in orthopedic practice. Physicians often encounter situations that cannot be understood intuitively during orthopedic interventions such as corrective osteotomy. Occasionally, unexpected angular or rotational deformity occurs during surgery. This study aimed to draw the attention of orthopedic surgeons toward the concepts of orientation and rotation and demonstrate the potential for unexpected deformity after orthopedic interventions. This study focused on three situations: shoulder arthrodesis, femoral varization derotational osteotomy, and femoral derotation osteotomy. Methods First, a shoulder model was generated to calculate unexpected rotational deformity to demonstrate Codman’s paradox. Second, femoral varization derotational osteotomy was simulated using a cylinder model. Third, a reconstructed femoral model was used to calculate unexpected angular or rotational deformity during femoral derotation osteotomy. Results Unexpected external rotation was found after forward elevation and abduction of the shoulder joint. In the varization and derotation model, closed-wedge osteotomy and additional derotation resulted in an unexpected extension and valgus deformity, namely, under-correction of coxa valga. After femoral derotational osteotomy, varization and extension of the distal fragment occurred, although the extension was negligible. Conclusions Surgeons should be aware of unexpected angular deformity after surgical procedure involving bony areas. The degree of deformity differs depending on the context of the surgical procedure. However, this study reveals that notable deformities can be expected during orthopedic procedures such as femoral varization derotational osteotomy. PMID:24886469

Neoplastic disease in a medicolegal autopsy material. A retrospective study in northern Sweden.

PubMed

Gezelius, C; Eriksson, A

1988-01-01

Only a small fraction of sudden unexpected deaths are caused by neoplastic disease and thus subject ot medicolegal autopsy. The medicolegal autopsy forms an opportunity to study not only medically diagnosed and treated neoplasms, but also the natural evolution of untreated disease. In a series of 7,020 consecutive medicolegal autopsies in northern Sweden, we found 171 cases with malignant and/or intracranial neoplasms. In 41 cases, sudden death was caused by previously unknown tumors. The most common mechanisms of death in this group were disseminated cancer, intracranial tumors, pulmonary thromboembolism, hemoptysis, and aspiration of blood, and the most common locations were the bronchi and the lung. In some of these cases, the mechanism was sometimes dramatic, raising a question of violent death or intoxication. In 30 cases, sudden unexpected death was caused by previously known tumors, and also in this group disseminated cancer was the most common cause of death, and the most common locations were the bronchi and the lung. In 22 cases, tumors were found suicidal cases; in 14 of these, the tumor was considered to be a major causative factor to the suicide, while in eight cases the tumor was considered to be an incidental finding. The expected number of cancers in the 1,060 suicides investigated in this series was 27, according to the official cancer prevalence data. Thus, a possible over-representation of suicides among persons with cancer seems doubtful and needs further exploration.

The impact of potentially traumatic events on the mental health of males who have served in the military: Findings from the Australian National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing.

PubMed

Wade, Darryl; Mewton, Louise; Varker, Tracey; Phelps, Andrea; Forbes, David

2017-07-01

The study investigated the impact of potentially traumatic events on mental health outcomes among males who had ever served in the Australian Defence Force. Data from a nationally representative household survey of Australian residents, the 2007 National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing, were used for this study. Compared with community members, Australian Defence Force males were significantly more likely to have experienced not only deployment and other war-like events but also accidents or other unexpected events, and trauma to someone close. For non-deployed males, Australian Defence Force members were at increased risk of accidents or other unexpected events compared to community members. After controlling for the effect of potentially traumatic events that were more prevalent among all Australian Defence Force members, the increased risk of mental disorders among Australian Defence Force members was no longer evident. For non-deployed males, Australian Defence Force and community members were at comparable risk of poor mental health outcomes. A significant minority of Australian Defence Force members had onset of a mental disorder prior to their first deployment. Deployment and other potentially traumatic events among Australian Defence Force members can help to explain their increased vulnerability to mental disorders compared with community members. Providers should routinely enquire about a range of potentially traumatic events among serving and ex-serving military personnel.

False-positive results after environmental pinworm PCR testing due to Rhabditid nematodes in Corncob bedding.

PubMed

Leblanc, Mathias; Berry, Kristina; Graciano, Sandy; Becker, Brandon; Reuter, Jon D

2014-11-01

Modern rodent colonies are housed in individually ventilated cages to protect the animals from contamination with adventitious pathogens. Standard health monitoring through soiled-bedding sentinels does not always detect infections, especially in the context of low pathogen prevalence. Recently proposed alternatives include analyzing environmental samples from the cages or rack exhaust by PCR to improve the detection of rodent pathogens but optimal sampling strategies have not yet been established for different microorganisms. Although generally very sensitive and specific, these molecular assays are not foolproof and subject to false-positive and -negative results and should always be interpreted cautiously with an overall understanding of the intrinsic controls and all the variables that may affect the results. Here, we report a limited Aspiculuris tetraptera outbreak in a mouse barrier facility that was detected by fecal PCR in sentinels and confirmed by fecal flotation and direct cecal examination of both sentinels and colony animals. The outbreak led to a widespread survey of all facilities for pinworms by using environmental PCR from ventilated rack exhaust plenums. Environmental PCR suggested an unexpected widespread contamination of all ventilated racks holding nonautoclaved cages, but results could not be confirmed in sentinel or colony animals by fecal flotation, cecal and colonic examination, or cage PCR testing. After additional investigation, the unexpected environmental PCR results were confirmed as false-positive findings due to the nonspecificity of the assay, leading to the amplification of rhabditid nematodes, which are not infectious in rodents but which contaminated the corncob bedding.

Gastrointestinal causes of sudden unexpected death: A review.

PubMed

Menezes, Ritesh G; Ahmed, Saba; Pasha, Syed Bilal; Hussain, Syed Ather; Fatima, Huda; Kharoshah, Magdy A; Madadin, Mohammed

2018-01-01

Gastrointestinal conditions are a less common cause of sudden unexpected death when compared to other conditions such as cardiovascular conditions, but they are equally important. Various congenital and acquired gastrointestinal conditions that have resulted in sudden unexpected death are discussed. The possible lethal mechanisms behind each condition, along with any associated risk factors or secondary diseases, have been described. Through this article, we aim to highlight the need for physicians to prevent death in such conditions by ensuring that subclinical cases are diagnosed correctly before it is too late and by providing timely and efficacious treatment to the patient concerned. In addition, this review would certainly benefit the forensic pathologist while dealing with cases of sudden unexpected death due to gastrointestinal causes. This article is a review of the major gastrointestinal causes of sudden unexpected death. In addition, related fatal cases encountered occasionally in forensic autopsy practice are also included. There are several unusual and rare causes of life-threatening gastrointestinal bleeding that may lead to sudden unexpected death to cover all the entities in detail. Nevertheless, this article is a general guide to the topic of gastrointestinal causes of sudden unexpected death.

Values and strategies: management of radical organizational change in a university hospital.

PubMed

Orvik, Arne

2017-04-01

Managers' experiences of radical change were studied in a Norwegian university hospital, which was relocated from a traditional building to a new, high-tech building. The university hospital was also accredited as a health promoting hospital. Thirteen managers at different levels in the organization and a personnel safety representative were interviewed as part of a trailing research project. The aim of the study was to elucidate the managers' value orientation and strategies for dealing with value tensions. A combination of a hermeneutical, reflective method and a template for quality, efficiency and integrity guided the analysis. The template was based not only on the main findings but also on the core values of a model of organizational health. The results show that clinical managers focus on quality and top managers, not unexpectedly, focus on efficiency. Managers at both levels were concerned about their own integrity, and also about the integrity of their clinician colleagues, as well as showing concern for the hospital's mission, in terms of organizational effectiveness. The discussion was conducted in terms of dominance, cycling and balancing strategies, of which the last was the most prevalent. However, sustainable strategies for dealing with value tensions also call for value-based management and value-conscious leadership. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Sudden unexpected infant death in Auckland: a retrospective case review.

PubMed

Hutchison, B Lynne; Rea, Charlotte; Stewart, Alistair W; Koelmeyer, Timothy D; Tipene-Leach, David C; Mitchell, Edwin A

2011-08-01

To review autopsy reports of all SUDI deaths in the Auckland region, New Zealand, from October 2000 to December 2009. Information on all SUDI cases from 2000 to 2009 was extracted from autopsy and police reports from the National Forensic Pathology Service at Auckland Hospital. Of the 332 post-mortems in this period, 221 were classified as SUDI. Of these, 83% were Māori or Pacific infants. The median age at death was 11 weeks and 11% occurred in 7- to 28-day-olds. At the time of death, 64% overall were bedsharing; this was more common in 7-28 day olds (92%). Bedsharing infants were significantly younger at death than non-bedsharing infants (p=0.008). Where sleep position was known, 57% were placed in non-supine at the last sleep. There was no evidence of diagnostic shift and the prevalence of bedsharing did not change over the decade. Bedsharing was associated with a high proportion of SUDI cases, especially in the youngest infants, and non-supine sleep positions were common. There is a need to enhance SUDI prevention messages and consider innovative ways of promoting safe sleeping environment and supine sleep position in Māori and Pacific communities. © 2011 The Author(s)/Acta Paediatrica © 2011 Foundation Acta Paediatrica.

MRI or not to MRI! Should brain MRI be a routine investigation in children with autistic spectrum disorders?

PubMed

Zeglam, Adel M; Al-Ogab, Marwa F; Al-Shaftery, Thouraya

2015-09-01

To evaluate the routine usage of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) of brain and estimate the prevalence of brain abnormalities in children presenting to the Neurodevelopment Clinic of Al-Khadra Hospital (NDC-KH), Tripoli, Libya with autistic spectrum disorders (ASD). The records of all children with ASD presented to NDC-KH over 4-year period (from January 2009 to December 2012) were reviewed. All MRIs were acquired with a 1.5-T Philips (3-D T1, T2, FLAIR coronal and axial sequences). MRIs were reported to be normal, abnormal or no significant abnormalities by a consultant neuroradiologist. One thousand and seventy-five children were included in the study. Seven hundred and eighty-two children (72.7 %) had an MRI brain of whom 555 (71 %) were boys. 26 children (24 males and 2 females) (3.3 %) demonstrated MRI abnormalities (8 leukodystrophic changes, 4 periventricular leukomalacia, 3 brain atrophy, 2 tuberous sclerosis, 2 vascular changes, 1 pineoblastoma, 1 cerebellar angioma, 1 cerebellar hypoplasia, 3 agenesis of corpus callosum, 1 neuro-epithelial cyst). An unexpectedly high rate of MRI abnormalities was found in the first large series of clinical MRI investigations in children with autism. These results could contribute to further research into the pathogenesis of autistic spectrum disorder.

High speed direct imaging of thin metal film ablation by movie-mode dynamic transmission electron microscopy

PubMed Central

Hihath, Sahar; Santala, Melissa K.; Cen, Xi; Campbell, Geoffrey; van Benthem, Klaus

2016-01-01

Obliteration of matter by pulsed laser beams is not only prevalent in science fiction movies, but finds numerous technological applications ranging from additive manufacturing over machining of micro- and nanostructured features to health care. Pulse lengths ranging from femtoseconds to nanoseconds are utilized at varying laser beam energies and pulse lengths, and enable the removal of nanometric volumes of material. While the mechanisms for removal of material by laser irradiation, i.e., laser ablation, are well understood on the micrometer length scale, it was previously impossible to directly observe obliteration processes on smaller scales due to experimental limitations for the combination of nanometer spatial and nanosecond temporal resolution. Here, we report the direct observation of metal thin film ablation from a solid substrate through dynamic transmission electron microscopy. Quantitative analysis reveals liquid-phase dewetting of the thin-film, followed by hydrodynamic sputtering of nano- to submicron sized metal droplets. We discovered unexpected fracturing of the substrate due to evolving thermal stresses. This study confirms that hydrodynamic sputtering remains a valid mechanism for droplet expulsion on the nanoscale, while irradiation induced stress fields represent limit laser processing of nanostructured materials. Our results allow for improved safety during laser ablation in manufacturing and medical applications. PMID:26965073

High speed direct imaging of thin metal film ablation by movie-mode dynamic transmission electron microscopy

DOE PAGES

Hihath, Sahar; Santala, Melissa K.; Cen, Xi; ...

2016-03-11

Obliteration of matter by pulsed laser beams is not only prevalent in science fiction movies, but finds numerous technological applications ranging from additive manufacturing over machining of micro- and nanostructured features to health care. Pulse lengths ranging from femtoseconds to nanoseconds are utilized at varying laser beam energies and pulse lengths, and enable the removal of nanometric volumes of material. While the mechanisms for removal of material by laser irradiation, i.e., laser ablation, are well understood on the micrometer length scale, it was previously impossible to directly observe obliteration processes on smaller scales due to experimental limitations for the combinationmore » of nanometer spatial and nanosecond temporal resolution. Here, we report the direct observation of metal thin film ablation from a solid substrate through dynamic transmission electron microscopy. Quantitative analysis reveals liquid-phase dewetting of the thin-film, followed by hydrodynamic sputtering of nano- to submicron sized metal droplets. We discovered unexpected fracturing of the substrate due to evolving thermal stresses. This study confirms that hydrodynamic sputtering remains a valid mechanism for droplet expulsion on the nanoscale, while irradiation induced stress fields represent limit laser processing of nanostructured materials. Ultimately, our results allow for improved safety during laser ablation in manufacturing and medical applications.« less

Linking Fossil Fish Cyclicity and Paleoenvironmental Proxies in the mid-Devonian

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grogan, D.; Whiteside, J. H.; Trewin, N. H.; Johnson, J. E.

2009-12-01

The significant radiation of fishes throughout the Devonian, combined with the abundance of well-preserved fossil fish assemblages from this period, provides for a high-resolution record of prevalent fish taxa in the Orcadian basin of North Scotland. In addition to their ability to serve as a lake-level and lake-chemistry proxy, the waxing and waning of dominant fish taxa exhibit a pronounced cyclicity, suggesting they respond to broader climate rhythms. Recent studies of mid-Devonian lacustrine sedimentary sequences have quantitatively demonstrated the presence of Milankovitch cyclicity in geochemical and gamma ray proxy records. Spectral analysis of gamma ray data show a strong obliquity peak usually associated with ice-house conditions; this obliquity signal is unexpected as tropical latitudes in the mid-Devonian are traditionally thought to have been in a greenhouse climate. Geochemical data include the measurement of bulk carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes, molecule-specific carbon isotopes of plant biomarkers, and depth ranks from eight sections of the Caithness Flagstone Group of the Orcadian Basin. Evidence for orbital forcing of climate change paired with the fossil fish record provides a unique opportunity to establish an astronomically calibrated timescale for the mid-Devonian, as well as to make a quantitative assessment of the validity of a greenhouse climate existing in the mid-Devonian.

High speed direct imaging of thin metal film ablation by movie-mode dynamic transmission electron microscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hihath, Sahar; Santala, Melissa K.; Cen, Xi; Campbell, Geoffrey; van Benthem, Klaus

2016-03-01

Obliteration of matter by pulsed laser beams is not only prevalent in science fiction movies, but finds numerous technological applications ranging from additive manufacturing over machining of micro- and nanostructured features to health care. Pulse lengths ranging from femtoseconds to nanoseconds are utilized at varying laser beam energies and pulse lengths, and enable the removal of nanometric volumes of material. While the mechanisms for removal of material by laser irradiation, i.e., laser ablation, are well understood on the micrometer length scale, it was previously impossible to directly observe obliteration processes on smaller scales due to experimental limitations for the combination of nanometer spatial and nanosecond temporal resolution. Here, we report the direct observation of metal thin film ablation from a solid substrate through dynamic transmission electron microscopy. Quantitative analysis reveals liquid-phase dewetting of the thin-film, followed by hydrodynamic sputtering of nano- to submicron sized metal droplets. We discovered unexpected fracturing of the substrate due to evolving thermal stresses. This study confirms that hydrodynamic sputtering remains a valid mechanism for droplet expulsion on the nanoscale, while irradiation induced stress fields represent limit laser processing of nanostructured materials. Our results allow for improved safety during laser ablation in manufacturing and medical applications.

Differential expression of odorant-binding proteins in the mandibular glands of the honey bee according to caste and age.

PubMed

Iovinella, Immacolata; Dani, Francesca Romana; Niccolini, Alberto; Sagona, Simona; Michelucci, Elena; Gazzano, Angelo; Turillazzi, Stefano; Felicioli, Antonio; Pelosi, Paolo

2011-08-05

Odorant-binding proteins (OBPs) and chemosensory proteins (CSPs) mediate both perception and release of chemical stimuli in insects. The genome of the honey bee contains 21 genes encoding OBPs and 6 encoding CSPs. Using a proteomic approach, we have investigated the expression of OBPs and CSPs in the mandibular glands of adult honey bees in relation to caste and age. OBP13 is mostly expressed in young individuals and in virgin queens, while OBP21 is abundant in older bees and is prevalent in mated queens. OBP14, which had been found in larvae, is produced in hive workers' glands. Quite unexpectedly, the mandibular glands of drones also contain OBPs, mainly OBP18 and OBP21. We have expressed three of the most represented OBPs and studied their binding properties. OBP13 binds with good specificity oleic acid and some structurally related compounds, OBP14 is better tuned to monoterpenoid structures, while OBP21 binds the main components of queen mandibular pheromone as well as farnesol, a compound used as a trail pheromone in the honey bee and other hymenopterans. The high expression of different OBPs in the mandibular glands suggests that such proteins could be involved in solubilization and release of semiochemicals.

The future of metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease prevention: polyhype or polyhope? Tales from the polyera.

PubMed

Franco, O H; Karnik, K; Bonneux, L

2007-09-01

Recently society has been witnessing the rise of a new era in the prevention and treatment of the metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease: the Polyera. This new era started when a promising concept - the Polypill - was introduced by Wald et al. in 2003. The Polypill is a theoretical combination of six pharmacological compounds (a statin, three different antihypertensives, aspirin, and folic acid) that in combination could reduce cardiovascular disease by more than 80%. Although the Polypill could theoretically be a highly effective intervention, it is not yet available in the market and its effectiveness remains unproven. In the population at large, cheap prizes may come at prohibitive costs. With frail elderly and population prevalences of co-morbidity far higher than in drug trials, rare adverse effects may be frequent. In December 2004, a more natural, safer, and probably tastier alternative to the Polypill - the Polymeal - was introduced. Contrary to the Polypill, the Polymeal combined 6 different foods (fruits and vegetables, almonds, chocolate, wine, fish, and garlic) that taken together in a regular basis could cut cardiovascular disease risk by over 75%. Polyproducts from the polyera in true populations might hide unexpected polyinteractions. In the polyera, polytrials will need to establish benefits, harms, and costs.

Causes of sudden death in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

PubMed

Schneider, J; Bezabih, K

2001-10-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate the causes of death in individuals who died suddenly in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The selection of the cases was based on police reports, which contained a description of sudden unexpected or instantaneous death. The study was performed on necropsies of the Medico legal Department of Menelik II Hospital, in Addis Ababa during the years 1998 and 1999. According to the pathological features of the heart, we classified 92 dead bodies in 3 groups: Group A: Hearts showing adequate morphological changes to explain sudden death (n = 63). Group B: Hearts showing some structural changes, but inadequate to explain sudden death (n = 20). Group C: Normal hearts (n = 7). In two bodies the general autopsy revealed an extra cardiac cause of death. The single most relevant cause of death in group A was coronary artery disease (44 cases) followed by excessive myocardial hypertrophy due to post-rheumatic valvular lesions (7 cases). While the high prevalence of rheumatic heart disease in Ethiopia is well known, the proportion of cases who died due to coronary heart disease is surprising. Though during the last years some African authors assumed that coronary atherosclerosis is on the increase in developing countries the percentage is higher than expected and higher than in other countries where similar studies exist.

High speed direct imaging of thin metal film ablation by movie-mode dynamic transmission electron microscopy.

PubMed

Hihath, Sahar; Santala, Melissa K; Cen, Xi; Campbell, Geoffrey; van Benthem, Klaus

2016-03-11

Obliteration of matter by pulsed laser beams is not only prevalent in science fiction movies, but finds numerous technological applications ranging from additive manufacturing over machining of micro- and nanostructured features to health care. Pulse lengths ranging from femtoseconds to nanoseconds are utilized at varying laser beam energies and pulse lengths, and enable the removal of nanometric volumes of material. While the mechanisms for removal of material by laser irradiation, i.e., laser ablation, are well understood on the micrometer length scale, it was previously impossible to directly observe obliteration processes on smaller scales due to experimental limitations for the combination of nanometer spatial and nanosecond temporal resolution. Here, we report the direct observation of metal thin film ablation from a solid substrate through dynamic transmission electron microscopy. Quantitative analysis reveals liquid-phase dewetting of the thin-film, followed by hydrodynamic sputtering of nano- to submicron sized metal droplets. We discovered unexpected fracturing of the substrate due to evolving thermal stresses. This study confirms that hydrodynamic sputtering remains a valid mechanism for droplet expulsion on the nanoscale, while irradiation induced stress fields represent limit laser processing of nanostructured materials. Our results allow for improved safety during laser ablation in manufacturing and medical applications.

Unexpected Hospitalisations at a 23-Hour Observation Unit in a Paediatric Emergency Department of Northern India

PubMed Central

Mahajan, Vidushi; Arora, Sumant; Kaur, Tarundeep; Gupta, Sorab; Guglani, Vishal

2013-01-01

Background: The 23-hour Observation Unit (OU) is a novel and an effective means for tackling overcrowding in busy Paediatric Emergency Departments (PED) worldwide. However, unexpected hospitalisations in the OU involve transfer of care and they reduce the efficiency of the OU. Hence, we aimed to study the presenting diagnoses which were responsible for the unexpected hospitalisations in a 23-hour OU. Methods and Design: A prospective cohort study Setting: The PED at a tertiary care teaching hospital. Duration: 15th Feb-15th March 2011. Protocol: Consecutive children were triaged at presentation to the PED, according to the WHO paediatric emergency triage algorithm. Those who were transferred to the 23-hour OU, were further followed up for duration of the stay, the hospital course, and the outcome (discharge/hospitalisation). Results: Three hundred (228 males, 72 females) consecutive children who attended the PED over one month were enrolled. All the children, at presentation, were triaged by the medical intern/s who was/were posted in the PED, and they were crosschecked by a PED consultant. A majority (55%, n=165) of the children were triaged as non-urgent, 32% (n=97) as priority and 13% (n=38) as emergent. Out of the 300 children, 173(58%) were transferred to the 23-hour OU. Of these, 16 (9.1%) required unexpected hospitalisations. The children who required hospitalisations had the following diagnoses: bronchiolitis (4), bronchopneumonia (4), seizure (2), viral hepatitis (2), high fever (1), bronchial asthma (1), severe anaemia (1), and urticaria (1). The mean duration of the stay in the OU was 19 hours for those who needed hospitalisation, as against 13 hours for those who were discharged from the OU. Conclusion: The children with respiratory complaints (bronchiolitis and bronchopneumonia) need frequent monitoring in the 23-hour OU, as they have high hospitalisation rates in the OU. PMID:23998079

Striatal and midbrain connectivity with the hippocampus selectively boosts memory for contextual novelty

PubMed Central

Kafkas, Alexandros; Montaldi, Daniela

2015-01-01

The role of contextual expectation in processing familiar and novel stimuli was investigated in a series of experiments combining eye tracking, functional magnetic resonance imaging, and behavioral methods. An experimental paradigm emphasizing either familiarity or novelty detection at retrieval was used. The detection of unexpected familiar and novel stimuli, which were characterized by lower probability, engaged activity in midbrain and striatal structures. Specifically, detecting unexpected novel stimuli, relative to expected novel stimuli, produced greater activity in the substantia nigra/ventral tegmental area (SN/VTA), whereas the detection of unexpected familiar, relative to expected, familiar stimuli, elicited activity in the striatum/globus pallidus (GP). An effective connectivity analysis showed greater functional coupling between these two seed areas (GP and SN/VTA) and the hippocampus, for unexpected than for expected stimuli. Within this network of midbrain/striatal–hippocampal interactions two pathways are apparent; the direct SN–hippocampal pathway sensitive to unexpected novelty and the perirhinal–GP–hippocampal pathway sensitive to unexpected familiarity. In addition, increased eye fixations and pupil dilations also accompanied the detection of unexpected relative to expected familiar and novel stimuli, reflecting autonomic activity triggered by the functioning of these two pathways. Finally, subsequent memory for unexpected, relative to expected, familiar, and novel stimuli was characterized by enhanced recollection, but not familiarity, accuracy. Taken together, these findings suggest that a hippocampal–midbrain network, characterized by two distinct pathways, mediates encoding facilitation and most critically, that this facilitation is driven by contextual novelty, rather than by the absolute novelty of a stimulus. This contextually sensitive neural mechanism appears to elicit increased exploratory behavior, leading subsequently to greater recollection of the unexpected stimulus. © 2015 The Authors Hippocampus Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. PMID:25708843

Confronting the unexpected: temporal, situational, and attributive dimensions of distressing symptom experience for breast cancer survivors.

PubMed

Rosedale, Mary; Fu, Mei R

2010-01-01

To describe women's unexpected and distressing symptom experiences after breast cancer treatment. Qualitative and descriptive. Depending upon their preference, participants were interviewed in their homes or in a private office space in a nearby library. Purposive sample of 13 women 1-18 years after breast cancer treatment. Secondary analysis of phenomenologic data (constant comparative method). Breast cancer symptom distress, ongoing symptoms, and unexpected experiences. Women described experiences of unexpected and distressing symptoms in the years following breast cancer treatment. Symptoms included pain, loss of energy, impaired limb movement, cognitive disturbance, changed sexual experience, and lymphedema. Four central themes were derived: living with lingering symptoms, confronting unexpected situations, losing precancer being, and feeling like a has-been. Distress intensified when women expected symptoms to disappear but symptoms persisted instead. Increased distress also was associated with sudden and unexpected situations or when symptoms elicited feelings of loss about precancer being and feelings of being a has been. Findings suggest that symptom distress has temporal, situational, and attributive dimensions. Breast cancer survivors' perceptions of ongoing and unexpected symptoms have important influences on quality of life. Understanding temporal, situational, and attributive dimensions of symptom distress empowers nurses and healthcare professionals to help breast cancer survivors prepare for subsequent ongoing or unexpected experiences in the years after breast cancer treatment. Follow-up care for breast cancer survivors should foster dialogue about ways that symptoms might emerge and that unexpected situations might occur. Prospective studies are needed to examine symptom distress in terms of temporal, situational, and attributive dimensions and explore the relationship between symptom distress and psychological distress after breast cancer treatment.

Getting It Done: Leading Academic Success in Unexpected Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chenoweth, Karin; Theokas, Christina

2011-01-01

"Getting It Done" describes in clear and helpful detail what leaders of successful high-poverty and high-minority schools have done to promote and sustain student achievement. It follows two celebrated books by Karin Chenoweth: "It's Being Done," which established that the work of educating all children is possible, and "How It's Being Done,"…

[Application to allergic diseases].

PubMed

Saito, Hirohisa

2005-04-01

The increasing prevalence of allergic diseases in developed countries is considered to be caused, at least in part, by rapid improvement of human hygiene. In human beings, the immune system developed as an ingenious device for defending against frequent attacks by microbes. Therefore, our immune system seems to have become deranged in our recent, unprecedentedly hygienic environment. It is now necessary to understand the total functional elements comprising the immune system, not just a single molecule present in an immunocyte working in our immune system. Microarray analysis is now becoming capable of detecting the whole transcripts present in a cell. It is anticipated that we can understand the deranged human immunity using the system biology. It is also expected to predict previously unexpected drug-related adverse events caused by interaction of a drug with responsible molecules present in vital organs.

Highly polymorphic colour vision in a New World monkey with red facial skin, the bald uakari (Cacajao calvus).

PubMed

Corso, Josmael; Bowler, Mark; Heymann, Eckhard W; Roos, Christian; Mundy, Nicholas I

2016-04-13

Colour vision is highly variable in New World monkeys (NWMs). Evidence for the adaptive basis of colour vision in this group has largely centred on environmental features such as foraging benefits for differently coloured foods or predator detection, whereas selection on colour vision for sociosexual communication is an alternative hypothesis that has received little attention. The colour vision of uakaris (Cacajao) is of particular interest because these monkeys have the most dramatic red facial skin of any primate, as well as a unique fission/fusion social system and a specialist diet of seeds. Here, we investigate colour vision in a wild population of the bald uakari,C. calvus, by genotyping the X-linked opsin locus. We document the presence of a polymorphic colour vision system with an unprecedented number of functional alleles (six), including a novel allele with a predicted maximum spectral sensitivity of 555 nm. This supports the presence of strong balancing selection on different alleles at this locus. We consider different hypotheses to explain this selection. One possibility is that trichromacy functions in sexual selection, enabling females to choose high-quality males on the basis of red facial coloration. In support of this, there is some evidence that health affects facial coloration in uakaris, as well as a high prevalence of blood-borne parasitism in wild uakari populations. Alternatively, the low proportion of heterozygous female trichromats in the population may indicate selection on different dichromatic phenotypes, which might be related to cryptic food coloration. We have uncovered unexpected diversity in the last major lineage of NWMs to be assayed for colour vision, which will provide an interesting system to dissect adaptation of polymorphic trichromacy. © 2016 The Author(s).

Preadipocyte 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 is a keto-reductase and contributes to diet-induced visceral obesity in vivo.

PubMed

De Sousa Peixoto, R A; Turban, S; Battle, J H; Chapman, K E; Seckl, J R; Morton, N M

2008-04-01

Glucocorticoid excess promotes visceral obesity and cardiovascular disease. Similar features are found in the highly prevalent metabolic syndrome in the absence of high levels of systemic cortisol. Although elevated activity of the glucocorticoid-amplifying enzyme 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (11beta-HSD1) within adipocytes might explain this paradox, the potential role of 11beta-HSD1 in preadipocytes is less clear; human omental adipose stromal vascular (ASV) cells exhibit 11beta-dehydrogenase activity (inactivation of glucocorticoids) probably due to the absence of cofactor provision by hexose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase. To clarify the depot-specific impact of 11beta-HSD1, we assessed whether preadipocytes in ASV from mesenteric (as a representative of visceral adipose tissue) and sc tissue displayed 11beta-HSD1 activity in mice. 11beta-HSD1 was highly expressed in freshly isolated ASV cells, predominantly in preadipocytes. 11beta-HSD1 mRNA and protein levels were comparable between ASV and adipocyte fractions in both depots. 11beta-HSD1 was an 11beta-reductase, thus reactivating glucocorticoids in ASV cells, consistent with hexose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase mRNA expression. Unexpectedly, glucocorticoid reactivation was higher in intact mesenteric ASV cells despite a lower expression of 11beta-HSD1 mRNA and protein (homogenate activity) levels than sc ASV cells. This suggests a novel depot-specific control over 11beta-HSD1 enzyme activity. In vivo, high-fat diet-induced obesity was accompanied by increased visceral fat preadipocyte differentiation in wild-type but not 11beta-HSD1(-/-) mice. The results suggest that 11beta-HSD1 reductase activity is augmented in mouse mesenteric preadipocytes where it promotes preadipocyte differentiation and contributes to visceral fat accumulation in obesity.

Robust passive dynamics of the musculoskeletal system compensate for unexpected surface changes during human hopping

PubMed Central

van der Krogt, Marjolein M.; de Graaf, Wendy W.; Farley, Claire T.; Moritz, Chet T.; Richard Casius, L. J.; Bobbert, Maarten F.

2009-01-01

When human hoppers are surprised by a change in surface stiffness, they adapt almost instantly by changing leg stiffness, implying that neural feedback is not necessary. The goal of this simulation study was first to investigate whether leg stiffness can change without neural control adjustment when landing on an unexpected hard or unexpected compliant (soft) surface, and second to determine what underlying mechanisms are responsible for this change in leg stiffness. The muscle stimulation pattern of a forward dynamic musculoskeletal model was optimized to make the model match experimental hopping kinematics on hard and soft surfaces. Next, only surface stiffness was changed to determine how the mechanical interaction of the musculoskeletal model with the unexpected surface affected leg stiffness. It was found that leg stiffness adapted passively to both unexpected surfaces. On the unexpected hard surface, leg stiffness was lower than on the soft surface, resulting in close-to-normal center of mass displacement. This reduction in leg stiffness was a result of reduced joint stiffness caused by lower effective muscle stiffness. Faster flexion of the joints due to the interaction with the hard surface led to larger changes in muscle length, while the prescribed increase in active state and resulting muscle force remained nearly constant in time. Opposite effects were found on the unexpected soft surface, demonstrating the bidirectional stabilizing properties of passive dynamics. These passive adaptations to unexpected surfaces may be critical when negotiating disturbances during locomotion across variable terrain. PMID:19589956

Prevalence effects in newly trained airport checkpoint screeners: trained observers miss rare targets, too.

PubMed

Wolfe, Jeremy M; Brunelli, David N; Rubinstein, Joshua; Horowitz, Todd S

2013-12-02

Many socially important search tasks are characterized by low target prevalence, meaning that targets are rarely encountered. For example, transportation security officers (TSOs) at airport checkpoints encounter very few actual threats in carry-on bags. In laboratory-based visual search experiments, low prevalence reduces the probability of detecting targets (Wolfe, Horowitz, & Kenner, 2005). In the lab, this "prevalence effect" is caused by changes in decision and response criteria (Wolfe & Van Wert, 2010) and can be mitigated by presenting a burst of high-prevalence search with feedback (Wolfe et al., 2007). The goal of this study was to see if these effects could be replicated in the field with TSOs. A total of 125 newly trained TSOs participated in one of two experiments as part of their final evaluation following training. They searched for threats in simulated bags across five blocks. The first three blocks were low prevalence (target prevalence ≤ .05) with no feedback; the fourth block was high prevalence (.50) with full feedback; and the final block was, again, low prevalence. We found that newly trained TSOs were better at detecting targets at high compared to low prevalence, replicating the prevalence effect. Furthermore, performance was better (and response criterion was more "liberal") in the low-prevalence block that took place after the high-prevalence block than in the initial three low-prevalence blocks, suggesting that a burst of high-prevalence trials may help alleviate the prevalence effect in the field.

Prevalence effects in newly trained airport checkpoint screeners: Trained observers miss rare targets, too

PubMed Central

Wolfe, Jeremy M.; Brunelli, David N.; Rubinstein, Joshua; Horowitz, Todd S.

2013-01-01

Many socially important search tasks are characterized by low target prevalence, meaning that targets are rarely encountered. For example, transportation security officers (TSOs) at airport checkpoints encounter very few actual threats in carry-on bags. In laboratory-based visual search experiments, low prevalence reduces the probability of detecting targets (Wolfe, Horowitz, & Kenner, 2005). In the lab, this “prevalence effect” is caused by changes in decision and response criteria (Wolfe & Van Wert, 2010) and can be mitigated by presenting a burst of high-prevalence search with feedback (Wolfe et al., 2007). The goal of this study was to see if these effects could be replicated in the field with TSOs. A total of 125 newly trained TSOs participated in one of two experiments as part of their final evaluation following training. They searched for threats in simulated bags across five blocks. The first three blocks were low prevalence (target prevalence ≤ .05) with no feedback; the fourth block was high prevalence (.50) with full feedback; and the final block was, again, low prevalence. We found that newly trained TSOs were better at detecting targets at high compared to low prevalence, replicating the prevalence effect. Furthermore, performance was better (and response criterion was more “liberal”) in the low-prevalence block that took place after the high-prevalence block than in the initial three low-prevalence blocks, suggesting that a burst of high-prevalence trials may help alleviate the prevalence effect in the field. PMID:24297778

Electrocatalytic Hydrogenation of Phenol over Platinum and Rhodium: Unexpected Temperature Effects Resolved

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Singh, Nirala; Song, Yang; Gutiérrez, Oliver Y.

2016-11-04

Both electrocatalytic hydrogenation (ECH) and thermal hydrogenation (TH) of phenol by Pt and Rh show a roll-over in rate with increasing temperature without changing the principal reaction pathways. The negative effect of temperature for aqueous-phase phenol H2 and electrocatalytic hydrogenation on Pt and Rh is deduced to be due to the unexpected buildup of dehydrogenated phenol adsorbates, which block active sites. Rates of ECH and TH increase similarly with increasing hydrogen chemical potential whether induced by applied potential or H2 pressure, both via increasing H coverage, and indirectly by removing site blockers, a very strong effect at high temperature. Thismore » enables unprecedented rates in the TH of phenol at these temperatures.« less

Global trends in antiretroviral resistance in treatment-naive individuals with HIV after rollout of antiretroviral treatment in resource-limited settings: a global collaborative study and meta-regression analysis.

PubMed

Gupta, Ravindra K; Jordan, Michael R; Sultan, Binta J; Hill, Andrew; Davis, Daniel H J; Gregson, John; Sawyer, Anthony W; Hamers, Raph L; Ndembi, Nicaise; Pillay, Deenan; Bertagnolio, Silvia

2012-10-06

The emergence and spread of high levels of HIV-1 drug resistance in resource-limited settings where combination antiretroviral treatment has been scaled up could compromise the effectiveness of national HIV treatment programmes. We aimed to estimate changes in the prevalence of HIV-1 drug resistance in treatment-naive individuals with HIV since initiation of rollout in resource-limited settings. We did a systematic search for studies and conference abstracts published between January, 2001, and July, 2011, and included additional data from the WHO HIV drug resistance surveillance programme. We assessed the prevalence of drug-resistance mutations in untreated individuals with respect to time since rollout in a series of random-effects meta-regression models. Study-level data were available for 26,102 patients from sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and Latin America. We recorded no difference between chronic and recent infection on the prevalence of one or more drug-resistance mutations for any region. East Africa had the highest estimated rate of increase at 29% per year (95% CI 15 to 45; p=0·0001) since rollout, with an estimated prevalence of HIV-1 drug resistance at 8 years after rollout of 7·4% (4·3 to 12·7). We recorded an annual increase of 14% (0% to 29%; p=0·054) in southern Africa and a non-significant increase of 3% (-0·9 to 16; p=0·618) in west and central Africa. There was no change in resistance over time in Latin America, and because of much country-level heterogeneity the meta-regression analysis was not appropriate for Asia. With respect to class of antiretroviral, there were substantial increases in resistance to non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTI) in east Africa (36% per year [21 to 52]; p<0·0001) and southern Africa (23% per year [7 to 42]; p=0·0049). No increase was noted for the other drug classes in any region. Our findings suggest a significant increase in prevalence of drug resistance over time since antiretroviral rollout in regions of sub-Saharan Africa; this rise is driven by NNRTI resistance in studies from east and southern Africa. The findings are of concern and draw attention to the need for enhanced surveillance and drug-resistance prevention efforts by national HIV treatment programmes. Nevertheless, estimated levels, although increasing, are not unexpected in view of the large expansion of antiretroviral treatment coverage seen in low-income and middle-income countries--no changes in antiretroviral treatment guidelines are warranted at the moment. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the European Community's Seventh Framework Programme. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Unexpectedly high mercury level in pelleted commercial fish feed

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Choi, M.H.; Cech, J.J. Jr.

1998-10-01

An unexpectedly high mercury (Hg) level was found in a pelleted commercial fish feed used to feed fish in laboratory and fish farm settings. Mean total Hg (T-Hg) concentration in the commercial fish pellets was 66 ppb. Mean total selenium (T-Se) concentration in the pellets was 1,120 ppb (ranging from 790 to 1,360 ppb). Total Hg and Se in the whole blood of Sacramento blackfish and in the fish feed were determined by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). During a 10-week sampling period T-Hg in blood fluctuated between 35 and 56 ppb. A highly significant, positive correlation was found betweenmore » T-Hg in the fish blood and in the fish feed through the sampling period. On the other hand, no correlation was found between T-Se in the fish feed and T-Hg or T-Se blood level. Researchers working with fish in Hg studies need to know that fish pellets may contain Hg and to consider the influence of these pellets in their results.« less

Cannibalistic-morph Tiger Salamanders in unexpected ecological contexts

USGS Publications Warehouse

McLean, Kyle I.; Stockwell, Craig A.; Mushet, David M.

2016-01-01

Barred tiger salamanders [Ambystoma mavortium (Baird, 1850)] exhibit two trophic morphologies; a typical and a cannibalistic morph. Cannibalistic morphs, distinguished by enlarged vomerine teeth, wide heads, slender bodies, and cannibalistic tendencies, are often found where conspecifics occur at high density. During 2012 and 2013, 162 North Dakota wetlands and lakes were sampled for salamanders. Fifty-one contained A. mavortium populations; four of these contained cannibalistic morph individuals. Two populations with cannibalistic morphs occurred at sites with high abundances of conspecifics. However, the other two populations occurred at sites with unexpectedly low conspecific but high fathead minnow [Pimephales promelas (Rafinesque, 1820)] abundances. Further, no typical morphs were observed in either of these later two populations, contrasting with earlier research suggesting cannibalistic morphs only occur at low frequencies in salamander populations. Another anomaly of all four populations was the occurrence of cannibalistic morphs in permanent water sites, suggesting their presence was due to factors other than faster growth allowing them to occupy ephemeral habitats. Therefore, our findings suggest environmental factors inducing the cannibalistic morphism may be more complex than previously thought.

Sudden unexpected death in infants in the Oxford Record Linkage Area: The mother

PubMed Central

Fedrick, Jean

1974-01-01

Of the 206 cases of sudden unexpected death in infancy (SUD) 170 were linked with the maternity information and birth certificates on the Oxford Record Linkage files. Statistically highly significant correlations were demonstrated with low maternal age, high parity, and low social class, the last two associations being more marked among the mothers of infants who died after the 12th week. Each case of SUD was then matched with three control livebirths for maternal age, parity, civil state of mother, social class, year and hospital of delivery, and as closely as possible for area of residence. A comparison of mothers of cases with those of the controls revealed a highly significant preponderance of women who were born outside the area, and no significant effect with maternal religion, previous pregnancy loss, or ABO blood group. Other pregnancies occurring to the case and control mothers between 1965 and 1971 were also traced. It was shown that the infant dying an SUD was more likely to have been conceived within six months of the birth of his preceding sib. PMID:4854522

Development of a highway incident management operational and training guide for incident responders in Illinois.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2011-08-01

Each year highway traffic incidents, such as crashes, place responders on and beside roadways with : dangerous high-speed traffic. The unexpected conditions of an incident scene have the potential to surprise : unsuspecting or inattentive drivers, po...

Malaria in South Asia: Prevalence and control

PubMed Central

Kumar, Ashwani; Chery, Laura; Biswas, Chinmoy; Dubhashi, Nagesh; Dutta, Prafulla; Dua, Virendra Kumar; Kacchap, Mridula; Kakati, Sanjeeb; Khandeparkar, Anar; Kour, Dalip; Mahajanj, Satish N.; Maji, Ardhendu; Majumder, Partha; Mohanta, Jagadish; Mohapatra, Pradyumna K.; Narayanasamy, Krishnamoorthy; Roy, Krishnangshu; Shastri, Jayanthi; Valecha, Neena; Vikash, Rana; Wani, Reena; White, John; Rathod, Pradipsinh K

2013-01-01

The “Malaria Evolution in South Asia” (MESA) program project is an International Center of Excellence for Malaria Research (ICEMR) sponsored by the US National Institutes of Health. This US–India collaborative program will study the origin of genetic diversity of malaria parasites and their selection on the Indian subcontinent. This knowledge should contribute to a better understanding of unexpected disease outbreaks and unpredictable disease presentations from Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax infections. In this first of two reviews, we highlight malaria prevalence in India. In particular, we draw attention to variations in distribution of different human-parasites and different vectors, variation in drug resistance traits, and multiple forms of clinical presentations. Uneven malaria severity in India is often attributed to large discrepancies in health care accessibility as well as human migrations within the country and across neighboring borders. Poor access to health care goes hand in hand with poor reporting from some of the same areas, combining to possibly distort disease prevalence and death from malaria in some parts of India. Corrections are underway in the form of increased resources for disease control, greater engagement of village-level health workers for early diagnosis and treatment, and possibly new public–private partnerships activities accompanying traditional national malaria control programs in the most severely affected areas. A second accompanying review raises the possibility that, beyond uneven health care, evolutionary pressures may alter malaria parasites in ways that contribute to severe disease in India, particularly in the NE corridor of India bordering Myanmar Narayanasamy et al., 2012. PMID:22248528

Malaria in South Asia: prevalence and control.

PubMed

Kumar, Ashwani; Chery, Laura; Biswas, Chinmoy; Dubhashi, Nagesh; Dutta, Prafulla; Dua, Virendra Kumar; Kacchap, Mridula; Kakati, Sanjeeb; Khandeparkar, Anar; Kour, Dalip; Mahajan, Satish N; Maji, Ardhendu; Majumder, Partha; Mohanta, Jagadish; Mohapatra, Pradyumna K; Narayanasamy, Krishnamoorthy; Roy, Krishnangshu; Shastri, Jayanthi; Valecha, Neena; Vikash, Rana; Wani, Reena; White, John; Rathod, Pradipsinh K

2012-03-01

The "Malaria Evolution in South Asia" (MESA) program project is an International Center of Excellence for Malaria Research (ICEMR) sponsored by the US National Institutes of Health. This US-India collaborative program will study the origin of genetic diversity of malaria parasites and their selection on the Indian subcontinent. This knowledge should contribute to a better understanding of unexpected disease outbreaks and unpredictable disease presentations from Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax infections. In this first of two reviews, we highlight malaria prevalence in India. In particular, we draw attention to variations in distribution of different human-parasites and different vectors, variation in drug resistance traits, and multiple forms of clinical presentations. Uneven malaria severity in India is often attributed to large discrepancies in health care accessibility as well as human migrations within the country and across neighboring borders. Poor access to health care goes hand in hand with poor reporting from some of the same areas, combining to possibly distort disease prevalence and death from malaria in some parts of India. Corrections are underway in the form of increased resources for disease control, greater engagement of village-level health workers for early diagnosis and treatment, and possibly new public-private partnerships activities accompanying traditional national malaria control programs in the most severely affected areas. A second accompanying review raises the possibility that, beyond uneven health care, evolutionary pressures may alter malaria parasites in ways that contribute to severe disease in India, particularly in the NE corridor of India bordering Myanmar Narayanasamy et al., 2012. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Prevalence of subdural collections in children with macrocrania.

PubMed

Greiner, M V; Richards, T J; Care, M M; Leach, J L

2013-12-01

The relationship between enlarged subarachnoid spaces and subdural collections is poorly understood and creates challenges for clinicians investigating the etiology of subdural collections. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of subdural collections on cross sectional imaging in children with macrocephaly correlating with subarachnoid space enlargement. The radiology information system of a large pediatric medical center was reviewed for "macrocrania" and "macrocephaly" on reports of cranial MRI/CT examinations in children <24 months of age, over a 24-month period. Head circumference was obtained from the clinical record. Studies were reviewed blindly for subdural collection presence and subarachnoid space size. Children with prior cranial surgery, parenchymal abnormalities, hydrocephalus, or conditions predisposing to parenchymal volume loss were excluded. Chart review was performed on those with subdural collections. Imaging from 177 children with enlarged head circumference was reviewed. Nine were excluded, for a final cohort of 168 subjects (108 with enlarged subarachnoid space). Subdural collections were identified in 6 (3.6%), all with enlarged subarachnoid space (6/108, 5.6%). In 4, subdural collections were small, homogeneous, and nonhemorrhagic. In 2, the collections were complex (septations or hemorrhage). Two children were reported as victims of child abuse (both with complex collections). No definitive etiology was established in the other cases. The prevalence of subdural collections in imaged children with macrocrania was 3.6%, all occurring in children with enlarged subarachnoid space. Our results suggest that enlarged subarachnoid space can be associated with some subdural collections in this cohort. Despite this, we believe that unexpected subdural collections in children should receive close clinical evaluation for underlying causes, including abusive head trauma.

Ownership of consumer electronics is associated with measures of adiposity during health transition in Vanuatu.

PubMed

Sun, Cheng; Pomer, Alysa; Dancause, Kelsey N; Chan, Chim W; Olszowy, Kathryn M; Silverman, Harold; Lee, Gwang; Tarivonda, Len; Taleo, George; Regenvanu, Ralph; Kaneko, Akira; Weitz, Charles A; Garruto, Ralph M; Lum, J Koji

2017-03-01

The Republic of Vanuatu, like many developing nations, is undergoing a rapid health transition. Our previous study identified several behavioral risk factors for the rising prevalence of obesity. Unexpectedly, daily time spent using television and radio was revealed as a protective factor for obesity in 2007. In this study, we sought to explore associations between ownership of consumer electronics (CE) and measures of adiposity in Vanuatu in 2011. We surveyed 873 adults from five islands varying in level of economic development. Height, weight, and waist circumferences; triceps, subscapular, and suprailiac skinfolds; and percent body fat by bioelectrical impedance were measured. Ownership of eight types of CE, diet through 24-h dietary recall and leisure-time activity patterns were assessed using a questionnaire. Participants from more developed islands owned more types of CE, and revealed higher measures of adiposity on average as well as higher prevalence of obesity/central obesity. When controlling for demographic factors, and dietary and activity patterns, increased measures of adiposity and risk for obesity/central obesity were associated with ownership of cellphones, music players, televisions, video players, microwaves, and/or refrigerators. Positive correlations between CE ownership and measures of adiposity were mainly observed among men on the two most developed islands. The results of this study indicate a possible role of CE use in the rising prevalence of obesity and the shift to a sedentary lifestyle in Vanuatu and many other modernizing regions, where prevention efforts including education on healthy use of CE are imperative. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Uninsured Workers Have More Severe Hospitalizations: Examining the Texas Workers' Compensation System, 2012.

PubMed

Boggess, Bethany; Scott, Brittany; Pompeii, Lisa

2017-08-01

Texas' unique elective system of workers' compensation (WC) coverage is being discussed widely in the United States as a possible model to be adopted by other states. Texas is the only state that does not mandate that employers provide state-certified WC insurance. Oklahoma passed legislation for a similar system in 2013, but it was declared unconstitutional by the Oklahoma Supreme Court in 2016. This study examined 9523 work-related hospitalizations that occurred in Texas in 2012 using Texas Department of State Health Services data. We sought to examine work-related injury characteristics by insurance source. An unexpected finding was that among those with WC, 44.6% of the hospitalizations were not recorded as work related by hospital staff. These unrecorded cases had 1.9 (1.6-2.2) times higher prevalence of a severe risk of mortality compared to WC cases that were recorded as work related. Uninsured and publicly insured workers also had a higher prevalence of severe mortality risk. The hospital charges for one year were $615.2 million, including at least $102.8 million paid by sources other than WC, and with $29.6 million that was paid for by injured workers or by taxpayers. There is an urgent need for more research to examine how the Texas WC system affects injured workers.

Supporting Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder through Grief and Loss

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hume, Kara; Regan, Tara; Megronigle, Laura; Rhinehalt, Charlene

2016-01-01

Ms. Bellamy was a beloved high school teacher serving students on the autism spectrum, as well as a highly visible staff member on her campus, where she was the varsity tennis coach. Her unexpected death affected everyone on campus and across the broader community, none more so than the eight students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) with whom…

Intercostal muscle twitching: An unusual manifestation of extracardiac stimulation related to right ventricular outflow tract pacing

PubMed Central

Erdogan, Okan

2007-01-01

The present case report describes a patient who underwent successful dual-chamber pacemaker implantation with active ventricular lead fixation at a high septal region in the right ventricular outflow tract. Unexpectedly, stimulation at a high output in the right ventricular outflow tract caused an unusual extracardiac stimulation, specifically, intercostal muscle twitching. PMID:17703261

Release of Inattentional Blindness by High Working Memory Load: Elucidating the Relationship between Working Memory and Selective Attention

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

de Fockert, Jan W.; Bremner, Andrew J.

2011-01-01

An unexpected stimulus often remains unnoticed if attention is focused elsewhere. This inattentional blindness has been shown to be increased under conditions of high memory load. Here we show that increasing working memory load can also have the opposite effect of reducing inattentional blindness (i.e., improving stimulus detection) if stimulus…

Hypervitaminosis D in Guinea Pigs with α-Mannosidosis

PubMed Central

Jensen, JanLee A; Brice, Angela K; Bagel, Jessica H; Mexas, Angela M; Yoon, Sea Young; Wolfe, John H

2013-01-01

A colony of guinea pigs (n = 9) with α-mannosidosis was fed a pelleted commercial laboratory guinea pig diet. Over 2 mo, all 9 guinea pigs unexpectedly showed anorexia and weight loss (11.7% to 30.0% of baseline weight), and 3 animals demonstrated transient polyuria and polydipsia. Blood chemistry panels in these 3 guinea pigs revealed high-normal total calcium, high-normal phosphate, and high ALP. Urine specific gravity was dilute (1.003, 1.009, 1.013) in the 3 animals tested. Postmortem examination of 7 animals that were euthanized after failing to respond to supportive care revealed renal interstitial fibrosis with tubular mineralization, soft tissue mineralization in multiple organs, hepatic lipidosis, and pneumonia. Analysis of the pelleted diet revealed that it had been formulated with a vitamin D3 content of more than 150 times the normal concentration. Ionized calcium and 25-hydroxyvitamin D values were both high in serum saved from 2 euthanized animals, confirming the diagnosis of hypervitaminosis D. This report discusses the clinical signs, blood chemistry results, and gross and histologic findings of hypervitaminosis D in a colony of guinea pigs. When unexpected signs occur colony-wide, dietary differentials should be investigated at an early time point. PMID:23582422

Hypervitaminosis D in guinea pigs with α-mannosidosis.

PubMed

Jensen, Janlee A; Brice, Angela K; Bagel, Jessica H; Mexas, Angela M; Yoon, Sea Young; Wolfe, John H

2013-04-01

A colony of guinea pigs (n = 9) with α-mannosidosis was fed a pelleted commercial laboratory guinea pig diet. Over 2 mo, all 9 guinea pigs unexpectedly showed anorexia and weight loss (11.7% to 30.0% of baseline weight), and 3 animals demonstrated transient polyuria and polydipsia. Blood chemistry panels in these 3 guinea pigs revealed high-normal total calcium, high-normal phosphate, and high ALP. Urine specific gravity was dilute (1.003, 1.009, 1.013) in the 3 animals tested. Postmortem examination of 7 animals that were euthanized after failing to respond to supportive care revealed renal interstitial fibrosis with tubular mineralization, soft tissue mineralization in multiple organs, hepatic lipidosis, and pneumonia. Analysis of the pelleted diet revealed that it had been formulated with a vitamin D3 content of more than 150 times the normal concentration. Ionized calcium and 25-hydroxyvitamin D values were both high in serum saved from 2 euthanized animals, confirming the diagnosis of hypervitaminosis D. This report discusses the clinical signs, blood chemistry results, and gross and histologic findings of hypervitaminosis D in a colony of guinea pigs. When unexpected signs occur colony-wide, dietary differentials should be investigated at an early time point.

An intriguing high performance liquid chromatogram of a double heterozygosity for Hb Q-India/Hb D-Punjab.

PubMed

Badyal, Rama Kumari; Chhabra, Sanjeev; Sharma, Prashant; Das, Reena

2014-01-01

Cation exchange high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is commonly utilized as the first method of screening for thalassemias and hemoglobinopathies worldwide. This method of diagnosis requires knowledge of the clinical background and complete blood counts as well as skill and experience in interpreting the sometimes complex results produced. An asymptomatic 27-year-old pregnant North Indian woman was found to have a highly unusual chromatographic pattern with multiple unexpected peaks during routine antenatal screening. Most concerning was a C-window peak as Hb C (HBB: c.19G>A) is rare in ethnic Asian Indian populations. Cellulose acetate electrophoresis at alkaline pH (8.6) and parental screening were performed. These revealed the correct diagnosis to be a double heterozygosity for Hb Q-India (HBA1: c.193G>C) (an uncommon asymptomatic α-globin chain variant) plus Hb D-Punjab (HBB: c.364G>C) (a β-globin chain variant that is common in this region and is asymptomatic in the heterozygous state). The unexpected C-window peak was the hybrid of the abnormal α-Q-India and β-D-Punjab globin chains. Another small peak was explained as a variant Hb A2 formed by the combination of α-Q-India and δ-globin chains. Hematopathologists should be cognizant of the complex pattern resulting from coinheritance of both α- and β-globin structural variants. Second-line testing and parental testing are invaluable in resolving unknown peaks, especially if rare or unexpected variants are being considered. Although both Hb Q-India and Hb D-Punjab are relatively common in northwestern India, to the best of our knowledge, only two recent reports describe a total of three cases of such diagnostically puzzling coinheritance.

All about the Money - External Performance Monitoring is Affected by Monetary, but Not by Socially Conveyed Feedback Cues in More Antisocial Individuals.

PubMed

Pfabigan, Daniela Melitta; Alexopoulos, Johanna; Bauer, Herbert; Lamm, Claus; Sailer, Uta

2011-01-01

This study investigated the relationship between feedback processing and antisocial personality traits measured by the PSSI questionnaire (Kuhl and Kazén, 1997) in a healthy undergraduate sample. While event-related potentials [feedback related negativity (FRN), P300] were recorded, participants encountered expected and unexpected feedback during a gambling task. As recent findings suggest learning problems and deficiencies during feedback processing in clinical populations of antisocial individuals, we performed two experiments with different healthy participants in which feedback about monetary gains or losses consisted either of social-emotional (facial emotion displays) or non-social cues (numerical stimuli). Since the FRN and P300 are both sensitive to different aspects of feedback processing we hypothesized that they might help to differentiate between individuals scoring high and low on an antisocial trait measure. In line with previous evidence FRN amplitudes were enhanced after negative and after unexpected feedback stimuli. Crucially, participants scoring high on antisocial traits displayed larger FRN amplitudes than those scoring low only in response to expected and unexpected negative numerical feedback, but not in response to social-emotional feedback - irrespective of expectancy. P300 amplitudes were not modulated by antisocial traits at all, but by subjective reward probabilities. The present findings indicate that individuals scoring high on antisociality attribute higher motivational salience to monetary compared to emotional-social feedback which is reflected in FRN amplitude enhancement. Contrary to recent findings, however, no processing deficiencies concerning social-emotional feedback stimuli were apparent in those individuals. This indicates that stimulus salience is an important aspect in learning and feedback processes in individuals with antisocial traits which has potential implications for therapeutic interventions in clinical populations.

Unexpected persistence of extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing Enterobacteriaceae in the faecal microbiota of hospitalised patients treated with imipenem.

PubMed

Grall, N; Lazarevic, V; Gaïa, N; Couffignal, C; Laouénan, C; Ilic-Habensus, E; Wieder, I; Plesiat, P; Angebault, C; Bougnoux, M E; Armand-Lefevre, L; Andremont, A; Duval, X; Schrenzel, J

2017-07-01

Imipenem is active against extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (ESBL-E) but favours the intestinal emergence of resistance. The effects of imipenem on intestinal microbiota have been studied using culture-based techniques. In this study, the effects were investigated in patients using culture and metagenomic techniques. Seventeen hospitalised adults receiving imipenem were included in a multicentre study (NCT01703299, http://www.clinicaltrials.gov). Most patients had a history of antibiotic use and/or hospitalisation. Stools were collected before, during and after imipenem treatment. Bacterial and fungal colonisation was assessed by culture, and microbiota changes were assessed using metagenomics. Unexpectedly, high colonisation rates by imipenem-susceptible ESBL-E before treatment (70.6%) remained stable over time, suggesting that imipenem intestinal concentrations were very low. Carriage rates of carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative bacilli (0-25.0%) were also stable over time, whereas those of yeasts (64.7% before treatment) peaked at 76.5% during treatment and decreased thereafter. However, these trends were not statistically significant. Yeasts included highly diverse colonising Candida spp. Metagenomics showed no global effect of imipenem on the bacterial taxonomic profiles at the sequencing depth used but demonstrated specific changes in the microbiota not detected with culture, attributed to factors other than imipenem, including sampling site or treatment with other antibiotics. In conclusion, culture and metagenomics were highly complementary in characterising the faecal microbiota of patients. The changes observed during imipenem treatment were unexpectedly limited, possibly because the microbiota was already disturbed by previous antibiotic exposure or hospitalisation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. and International Society of Chemotherapy. All rights reserved.

3 CFR - Unexpected Urgent Refugee and Migration Needs

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 3 The President 1 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Unexpected Urgent Refugee and Migration Needs... Unexpected Urgent Refugee and Migration Needs Memorandum for the Secretary of State By the authority vested...) of the Migration and Refugee Assistance Act of 1962 (the “Act”), as amended, (22 U.S.C. 2601(c)(1...

Orthographic Processing and Visual Sequential Memory in Unexpectedly Poor Spellers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Holmes, Virginia M.; Malone, Aisling M.; Redenbach, Holly

2008-01-01

Does unexpectedly poor spelling in adults result from inferior visual sequential memory? In one experiment, unexpectedly poor spellers performed significantly worse than better spellers in the immediate reproduction of sequences of visual symbols, but in a second experiment, the effect was not replicated. Poor spellers were also no worse at the…

3 CFR - Unexpected Urgent Refugee and Migration Needs

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 3 The President 1 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Unexpected Urgent Refugee and Migration Needs Presidential Documents Other Presidential Documents Presidential Determination No. 2012-6 of April 3, 2012 Unexpected Urgent Refugee and Migration Needs Memorandum for the Secretary of State By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution...

77 FR 21389 - Unexpected Urgent Refugee and Migration Needs

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-04-10

... April 3, 2012 Unexpected Urgent Refugee and Migration Needs Memorandum for the Secretary of State By the... 2(c)(1) of the Migration and Refugee Assistance Act of 1962 (the ``Act''), as amended, (22 U.S.C... United States Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance Fund, for the purpose of meeting unexpected and...

Predictive coding in autism spectrum disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

PubMed

Gonzalez-Gadea, Maria Luz; Chennu, Srivas; Bekinschtein, Tristan A; Rattazzi, Alexia; Beraudi, Ana; Tripicchio, Paula; Moyano, Beatriz; Soffita, Yamila; Steinberg, Laura; Adolfi, Federico; Sigman, Mariano; Marino, Julian; Manes, Facundo; Ibanez, Agustin

2015-11-01

Predictive coding has been proposed as a framework to understand neural processes in neuropsychiatric disorders. We used this approach to describe mechanisms responsible for attentional abnormalities in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). We monitored brain dynamics of 59 children (8-15 yr old) who had ASD or ADHD or who were control participants via high-density electroencephalography. We performed analysis at the scalp and source-space levels while participants listened to standard and deviant tone sequences. Through task instructions, we manipulated top-down expectation by presenting expected and unexpected deviant sequences. Children with ASD showed reduced superior frontal cortex (FC) responses to unexpected events but increased dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (PFC) activation to expected events. In contrast, children with ADHD exhibited reduced cortical responses in superior FC to expected events but strong PFC activation to unexpected events. Moreover, neural abnormalities were associated with specific control mechanisms, namely, inhibitory control in ASD and set-shifting in ADHD. Based on the predictive coding account, top-down expectation abnormalities could be attributed to a disproportionate reliance (precision) allocated to prior beliefs in ASD and to sensory input in ADHD. Copyright © 2015 the American Physiological Society.

Predictive coding in autism spectrum disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

PubMed Central

Gonzalez-Gadea, Maria Luz; Chennu, Srivas; Bekinschtein, Tristan A.; Rattazzi, Alexia; Beraudi, Ana; Tripicchio, Paula; Moyano, Beatriz; Soffita, Yamila; Steinberg, Laura; Adolfi, Federico; Sigman, Mariano; Marino, Julian; Manes, Facundo

2015-01-01

Predictive coding has been proposed as a framework to understand neural processes in neuropsychiatric disorders. We used this approach to describe mechanisms responsible for attentional abnormalities in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). We monitored brain dynamics of 59 children (8–15 yr old) who had ASD or ADHD or who were control participants via high-density electroencephalography. We performed analysis at the scalp and source-space levels while participants listened to standard and deviant tone sequences. Through task instructions, we manipulated top-down expectation by presenting expected and unexpected deviant sequences. Children with ASD showed reduced superior frontal cortex (FC) responses to unexpected events but increased dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (PFC) activation to expected events. In contrast, children with ADHD exhibited reduced cortical responses in superior FC to expected events but strong PFC activation to unexpected events. Moreover, neural abnormalities were associated with specific control mechanisms, namely, inhibitory control in ASD and set-shifting in ADHD. Based on the predictive coding account, top-down expectation abnormalities could be attributed to a disproportionate reliance (precision) allocated to prior beliefs in ASD and to sensory input in ADHD. PMID:26311184

Some See It, Some Don’t: Exploring the Relation between Inattentional Blindness and Personality Factors

PubMed Central

Kreitz, Carina; Schnuerch, Robert; Gibbons, Henning; Memmert, Daniel

2015-01-01

Human awareness is highly limited, which is vividly demonstrated by the phenomenon that unexpected objects go unnoticed when attention is focused elsewhere (inattentional blindness). Typically, some people fail to notice unexpected objects while others detect them instantaneously. Whether this pattern reflects stable individual differences is unclear to date. In particular, hardly anything is known about the influence of personality on the likelihood of inattentional blindness. To fill this empirical gap, we examined the role of multiple personality factors, namely the Big Five, BIS/BAS, absorption, achievement motivation, and schizotypy, in these failures of awareness. In a large-scale sample (N = 554), susceptibility to inattentional blindness was associated with a low level of openness to experience and marginally with a low level of achievement motivation. However, in a multiple regression analysis, only openness emerged as an independent, negative predictor. This suggests that the general tendency to be open to experience extends to the domain of perception. Our results complement earlier work on the possible link between inattentional blindness and personality by demonstrating, for the first time, that failures to consciously perceive unexpected objects reflect individual differences on a fundamental dimension of personality. PMID:26011567

Identifying black swans in NextGen: predicting human performance in off-nominal conditions.

PubMed

Wickens, Christopher D; Hooey, Becky L; Gore, Brian F; Sebok, Angelia; Koenicke, Corey S

2009-10-01

The objective is to validate a computational model of visual attention against empirical data--derived from a meta-analysis--of pilots' failure to notice safety-critical unexpected events. Many aircraft accidents have resulted, in part, because of failure to notice nonsalient unexpected events outside of foveal vision, illustrating the phenomenon of change blindness. A model of visual noticing, N-SEEV (noticing-salience, expectancy, effort, and value), was developed to predict these failures. First, 25 studies that reported objective data on miss rate for unexpected events in high-fidelity cockpit simulations were identified, and their miss rate data pooled across five variables (phase of flight, event expectancy, event location, presence of a head-up display, and presence of a highway-in-the-sky display). Second, the parameters of the N-SEEV model were tailored to mimic these dichotomies. The N-SEEV model output predicted variance in the obtained miss rate (r = .73). The individual miss rates of all six dichotomous conditions were predicted within 14%, and four of these were predicted within 7%. The N-SEEV model, developed on the basis of an independent data set, was able to successfully predict variance in this safety-critical measure of pilot response to abnormal circumstances, as collected from the literature. As new technology and procedures are envisioned for the future airspace, it is important to predict if these may compromise safety in terms of pilots' failing to notice unexpected events. Computational models such as N-SEEV support cost-effective means of making such predictions.

Fasting serum blood measures of bone and lipid metabolism in children with myelomeningocele for early detection of cardiovascular and bone fragility risk factors.

PubMed

Van Speybroeck, Alexander; Mueske, Nicole M; Mittelman, Steven D; Kremer, Richard K; Ryan, Deirdre D; Wren, Tishya A L

2017-03-01

This study examined serum levels in children with myelomeningocele to identify the prevalence of pre-clinical signs of disease. A prospective, cross-sectional study. Patients were actively recruited from multidisciplinary care clinics at tertiary children's hospitals from 2010-2012. The control comparison group was recruited by word-of-mouth. Twenty-eight children with myelomeningocele (93% Hispanic; 17 males; 10.0 ± 2.1 years) and 58 controls (84% Hispanic; 30 males; 10.4 ± 2.4 years) provided ≥ 8-hour fasting blood samples with concomitant dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry measurements of body fat. Not applicable. The serum analysis included a lipid panel (cholesterol, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein, low-density lipoprotein), insulin, glucose, leptin, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine transaminase, alkaline phosphatase, albumin, creatinine, calcium, phosphatase, parathyroid hormone, and vitamin D. Children with myelomeningocele had higher body fat (35.2% versus 29.9%, p=0.01) and altered lipid profiles (lower high-density lipoprotein levels, 43.9 mg/dL versus 51.6 mg/dL, P = 0.03) suggesting elevated risk of metabolic syndrome. They also had a higher prevalence of vitamin D deficiency (43% versus 17%, p=0.02) and significantly lower levels of calcium (9.4 mg/dL versus 9.7 mg/dL, P = 0.003) and alkaline phosphatase (187.0 U/L versus 237.0 U/L, P = 0.003). Unexpectedly children with myelomeningocele had lower parathyroid hormone levels (14.5 pg/mL versus 18.4 pg/mL, P = 0.02) than controls despite lower calcium, vitamin D and alkaline phosphatase levels. This suggests an alteration in the sensing mechanism or response of the parathyroid gland to normal physiological stimuli in patients with myelomeningocele. Children with myelomeningocele have abnormal biochemical markers for cardiovascular disease, insulin resistance and bone and mineral metabolism. Early recognition and monitoring of these risk factors in patients with myelomeningocele may help prevent later complications.

Managing pedestrians during evacuations of metropolitan areas.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2007-03-01

The September 11(or 9/11), 2001, attacks on the high-profile workplaces of the World Trade Center (WTC) in New York City and the Pentagon in : the Washington, D.C. area, made real the impact of an unexpected, or no-notice, event in a metropolit...

On Discipline: The Products and Process.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Frasher, James

1982-01-01

One explanation for unexpectedly low stress levels among assistant principals may lie in "administrative attribution theory." The demand for school discipline by the public, school boards, teachers, and students should induce high levels of stress in assistant principals, because they are usually responsible for discipline enforcement,…

Whole Lyophilized Olives as Sources of Unexpectedly High Amounts of Secoiridoids: The Case of Three Tuscan Cultivars.

PubMed

Cecchi, Lorenzo; Migliorini, Marzia; Cherubini, Chiara; Innocenti, Marzia; Mulinacci, Nadia

2015-02-04

The phenolic profiles of three typical Tuscan olive cultivars, Frantoio, Moraiolo, and Leccino, stored in different conditions (fresh, frozen, and whole lyophilized fruits), have been compared during the ripening period. Our main goals were to evaluate the phenolic content of whole freeze-dried fruits and to test the stability of the corresponding cake in oxidative-stress conditions. The comparison of fresh and whole freeze-dried fruits from the 2012 season gave unexpected results; e.g., oleuropein in lyophilized fruits was up to 20 times higher than in fresh olives with values up to 80.3 g/kg. Over time we noted that the olive pastes obtained from lyophilized olives contained highly stable phenolic compounds, even under strong oxidative stress conditions. Finally, it was also observed that the cake/powder obtained from unripe freeze-dried olives was very poor in oil content and therefore quite suitable for use in nutritional supplements rich in phenolic compounds, such as secoiridoids, which are not widely present in the human diet.

Unexpected biotic resilience on the Japanese seafloor caused by the 2011 Tōhoku-Oki tsunami

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Toyofuku, Takashi; Duros, Pauline; Fontanier, Christophe; Mamo, Briony; Bichon, Sabrina; Buscail, Roselyne; Chabaud, Gérard; Deflandre, Bruno; Goubet, Sarah; Grémare, Antoine; Menniti, Christophe; Fujii, Minami; Kawamura, Kiichiro; Koho, Karoliina Annika; Noda, Atsushi; Namegaya, Yuichi; Oguri, Kazumasa; Radakovitch, Olivier; Murayama, Masafumi; de Nooijer, Lennart Jan; Kurasawa, Atushi; Ohkawara, Nina; Okutani, Takashi; Sakaguchi, Arito; Jorissen, Frans; Reichart, Gert-Jan; Kitazato, Hiroshi

2014-12-01

On March 11th, 2011 the Mw 9.0 2011 Tōhoku-Oki earthquake resulted in a tsunami which caused major devastation in coastal areas. Along the Japanese NE coast, tsunami waves reached maximum run-ups of 40 m, and travelled kilometers inland. Whereas devastation was clearly visible on land, underwater impact is much more difficult to assess. Here, we report unexpected results obtained during a research cruise targeting the seafloor off Shimokita (NE Japan), shortly (five months) after the disaster. The geography of the studied area is characterized by smooth coastline and a gradually descending shelf slope. Although high-energy tsunami waves caused major sediment reworking in shallow-water environments, investigated shelf ecosystems were characterized by surprisingly high benthic diversity and showed no evidence of mass mortality. Conversely, just beyond the shelf break, the benthic ecosystem was dominated by a low-diversity, opportunistic fauna indicating ongoing colonization of massive sand-bed deposits.

Unexpected biotic resilience on the Japanese seafloor caused by the 2011 Tōhoku-Oki tsunami

PubMed Central

Toyofuku, Takashi; Duros, Pauline; Fontanier, Christophe; Mamo, Briony; Bichon, Sabrina; Buscail, Roselyne; Chabaud, Gérard; Deflandre, Bruno; Goubet, Sarah; Grémare, Antoine; Menniti, Christophe; Fujii, Minami; Kawamura, Kiichiro; Koho, Karoliina Annika; Noda, Atsushi; Namegaya, Yuichi; Oguri, Kazumasa; Radakovitch, Olivier; Murayama, Masafumi; de Nooijer, Lennart Jan; Kurasawa, Atushi; Ohkawara, Nina; Okutani, Takashi; Sakaguchi, Arito; Jorissen, Frans; Reichart, Gert-Jan; Kitazato, Hiroshi

2014-01-01

On March 11th, 2011 the Mw 9.0 2011 Tōhoku-Oki earthquake resulted in a tsunami which caused major devastation in coastal areas. Along the Japanese NE coast, tsunami waves reached maximum run-ups of 40 m, and travelled kilometers inland. Whereas devastation was clearly visible on land, underwater impact is much more difficult to assess. Here, we report unexpected results obtained during a research cruise targeting the seafloor off Shimokita (NE Japan), shortly (five months) after the disaster. The geography of the studied area is characterized by smooth coastline and a gradually descending shelf slope. Although high-energy tsunami waves caused major sediment reworking in shallow-water environments, investigated shelf ecosystems were characterized by surprisingly high benthic diversity and showed no evidence of mass mortality. Conversely, just beyond the shelf break, the benthic ecosystem was dominated by a low-diversity, opportunistic fauna indicating ongoing colonization of massive sand-bed deposits. PMID:25515588

Unexpected biotic resilience on the Japanese seafloor caused by the 2011 Tōhoku-Oki tsunami.

PubMed

Toyofuku, Takashi; Duros, Pauline; Fontanier, Christophe; Mamo, Briony; Bichon, Sabrina; Buscail, Roselyne; Chabaud, Gérard; Deflandre, Bruno; Goubet, Sarah; Grémare, Antoine; Menniti, Christophe; Fujii, Minami; Kawamura, Kiichiro; Koho, Karoliina Annika; Noda, Atsushi; Namegaya, Yuichi; Oguri, Kazumasa; Radakovitch, Olivier; Murayama, Masafumi; de Nooijer, Lennart Jan; Kurasawa, Atushi; Ohkawara, Nina; Okutani, Takashi; Sakaguchi, Arito; Jorissen, Frans; Reichart, Gert-Jan; Kitazato, Hiroshi

2014-12-17

On March 11(th), 2011 the Mw 9.0 2011 Tōhoku-Oki earthquake resulted in a tsunami which caused major devastation in coastal areas. Along the Japanese NE coast, tsunami waves reached maximum run-ups of 40 m, and travelled kilometers inland. Whereas devastation was clearly visible on land, underwater impact is much more difficult to assess. Here, we report unexpected results obtained during a research cruise targeting the seafloor off Shimokita (NE Japan), shortly (five months) after the disaster. The geography of the studied area is characterized by smooth coastline and a gradually descending shelf slope. Although high-energy tsunami waves caused major sediment reworking in shallow-water environments, investigated shelf ecosystems were characterized by surprisingly high benthic diversity and showed no evidence of mass mortality. Conversely, just beyond the shelf break, the benthic ecosystem was dominated by a low-diversity, opportunistic fauna indicating ongoing colonization of massive sand-bed deposits.

Condoning stereotyping? How awareness of stereotyping prevalence impacts expression of stereotypes.

PubMed

Duguid, Michelle M; Thomas-Hunt, Melissa C

2015-03-01

The deleterious effects of stereotyping on individual and group outcomes have prompted a search for solutions. One approach has been to increase awareness of the prevalence of stereotyping in the hope of motivating individuals to resist natural inclinations. However, it could be that this strategy creates a norm for stereotyping, which paradoxically undermines desired effects. The present research demonstrates that individuals who received a high prevalence of stereotyping message expressed more stereotypes than those who received a low prevalence of stereotyping message (Studies 1a, 1b, 1c, and 2) or no message (Study 2). Furthermore, working professionals who received a high prevalence of stereotyping message were less willing to work with an individual who violated stereotypical norms than those who received no message, a low prevalence of stereotyping message, or a high prevalence of counter-stereotyping effort message (Study 3). Also, in a competitive task, individuals who received a high prevalence of stereotyping message treated their opponents in more stereotype-consistent ways than those who received a low prevalence of stereotyping message or those who received a high prevalence of counter-stereotyping effort message (Study 4). PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved.

3 CFR - Unexpected Urgent Refugee and Migration Needs Relating to Syria

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 3 The President 1 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Unexpected Urgent Refugee and Migration Needs Relating to Syria Presidential Documents Other Presidential Documents Presidential Determination No. 2013-4 of January 29, 2013 Unexpected Urgent Refugee and Migration Needs Relating to Syria Memorandum for the Secretary of State By the authority vested i...

3 CFR - Unexpected Urgent Refugee and Migration Needs Related to Libya

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 3 The President 1 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Unexpected Urgent Refugee and Migration Needs Related to Libya Presidential Documents Other Presidential Documents Presidential Determination No. 2011-8 of March 7, 2011 Unexpected Urgent Refugee and Migration Needs Related to Libya Memorandum for the Secretary of State By the authority vested in me...

3 CFR - Unexpected Urgent Refugee and Migration Needs Resulting from Flooding in Pakistan

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 3 The President 1 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Unexpected Urgent Refugee and Migration Needs... Determination No. 2010-14 of September 3, 2010 Unexpected Urgent Refugee and Migration Needs Resulting from... the Constitution and the laws of the United States, including section 2(c)(1) of the Migration and...

3 CFR - Unexpected Urgent Refugee and Migration Needs Resulting from Violence in Kyrgyzstan

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 3 The President 1 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Unexpected Urgent Refugee and Migration Needs... Determination No. 2010-12 of August 26, 2010 Unexpected Urgent Refugee and Migration Needs Resulting from... the Constitution and the laws of the United States, including section 2(c)(1) of the Migration and...

Wind selection and drift compensation optimize migratory pathways in a high-flying moth.

PubMed

Chapman, Jason W; Reynolds, Don R; Mouritsen, Henrik; Hill, Jane K; Riley, Joe R; Sivell, Duncan; Smith, Alan D; Woiwod, Ian P

2008-04-08

Numerous insect species undertake regular seasonal migrations in order to exploit temporary breeding habitats [1]. These migrations are often achieved by high-altitude windborne movement at night [2-6], facilitating rapid long-distance transport, but seemingly at the cost of frequent displacement in highly disadvantageous directions (the so-called "pied piper" phenomenon [7]). This has lead to uncertainty about the mechanisms migrant insects use to control their migratory directions [8, 9]. Here we show that, far from being at the mercy of the wind, nocturnal moths have unexpectedly complex behavioral mechanisms that guide their migratory flight paths in seasonally-favorable directions. Using entomological radar, we demonstrate that free-flying individuals of the migratory noctuid moth Autographa gamma actively select fast, high-altitude airstreams moving in a direction that is highly beneficial for their autumn migration. They also exhibit common orientation close to the downwind direction, thus maximizing the rectilinear distance traveled. Most unexpectedly, we find that when winds are not closely aligned with the moth's preferred heading (toward the SSW), they compensate for cross-wind drift, thus increasing the probability of reaching their overwintering range. We conclude that nocturnally migrating moths use a compass and an inherited preferred direction to optimize their migratory track.

Sleep, Cognition, and Normal Aging: Integrating a Half-Century of Multidisciplinary Research

PubMed Central

Scullin, Michael K.; Bliwise, Donald L.

2014-01-01

Sleep is implicated in cognitive functioning in young adults. With increasing age there are substantial changes to sleep quantity and quality including changes to slow wave sleep, spindle density, and sleep continuity/fragmentation. A provocative question for the field of cognitive aging is whether such changes in sleep physiology affect cognition (e.g., memory consolidation). We review nearly a half-century of research studies across 7 diverse correlational and experimental literature domains, which historically have had little crosstalk. Broadly speaking, sleep and cognitive functions are often related in advancing age, though the prevalence of null effects (including correlations in the unexpected, negative direction) in healthy older adults indicates that age may be an effect modifier of these associations. We interpret the literature as suggesting that maintaining good sleep quality, at least in young adulthood and middle age, promotes better cognitive functioning and serves to protect against age-related cognitive declines. PMID:25620997

The serotonin axis: Shared mechanisms in seizures, depression and SUDEP

PubMed Central

Richerson, George B.; Buchanan, Gordon F.

2010-01-01

Summary There is a growing appreciation that patients with seizures are also affected by a number of co-morbid conditions, including an increase in prevalence of depression (Kanner, 2009), sleep apnea (Chihorek et al, 2007), and sudden death (Ryvlin et al, 2006; Tomson et al, 2008). The mechanisms responsible for these associations are unclear. Here we discuss the possibility that underlying pathology in the serotonin (5-HT) system of epilepsy patients lowers the threshold for seizures, while also increasing the risk of depression and sudden death. We propose that post-ictal dysfunction of 5-HT neurons causes depression of breathing and arousal in some epilepsy patients, and this can lead to sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP). We further draw parallels between SUDEP and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), which may share pathophysiological mechanisms, and which have both been linked to defects in the 5-HT system. PMID:21214537

Rabies in the critical care unit: diagnostic and therapeutic approaches.

PubMed

Jackson, Alan C

2011-09-01

Worldwide, human rabies is prevalent where there is endemic dog rabies, but the disease may present unexpectedly in critical care units when suggestive clinical features have passed. In North America transmission from bats is most common and there is often no history of a bat bite or even contact with bats. Laboratory diagnostic evaluation for rabies includes serology plus skin biopsy, cerebrospinal fluid, and saliva specimens for rabies virus antigen and/or RNA detection. Rare patients have survived rabies, and most received rabies vaccine prior to the onset of illness. Therapeutic coma (midazolam and phenobarbital), ketamine, and antiviral therapies (dubbed the "Milwaukee Protocol") were given to a rabies survivor, but this therapy was likely not directly responsible for the favorable outcome. There have been many subsequent failures of similar therapeutic approaches. There is no scientific rationale for the use of therapeutic coma in human rabies. New approaches to treating human rabies need to be developed.

Sarcopenia, Frailty, and Diabetes in Older Adults

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

Populations are aging and the prevalence of diabetes mellitus is increasing tremendously. The number of older people with diabetes is increasing unexpectedly. Aging and diabetes are both risk factors for functional disability. Thus, increasing numbers of frail or disabled older patients with diabetes will increase both direct and indirect health-related costs. Diabetes has been reported as an important risk factor of developing physical disability in older adults. Older people with diabetes have lower muscle mass and weaker muscle strength. In addition, muscle quality is poorer in diabetic patients. Sarcopenia and frailty have a common soil and may share a similar pathway for multiple pathologic processes in older people. Sarcopenia is thought to be an intermediate step in the development of frailty in patients with diabetes. Thus, early detection of sarcopenia and frailty in older adults with diabetes should be routine clinical practice to prevent frailty or to intervene earlier in frail patients. PMID:27098509

Inattentional blindness is influenced by exposure time not motion speed.

PubMed

Kreitz, Carina; Furley, Philip; Memmert, Daniel

2016-01-01

Inattentional blindness is a striking phenomenon in which a salient object within the visual field goes unnoticed because it is unexpected, and attention is focused elsewhere. Several attributes of the unexpected object, such as size and animacy, have been shown to influence the probability of inattentional blindness. At present it is unclear whether or how the speed of a moving unexpected object influences inattentional blindness. We demonstrated that inattentional blindness rates are considerably lower if the unexpected object moves more slowly, suggesting that it is the mere exposure time of the object rather than a higher saliency potentially induced by higher speed that determines the likelihood of its detection. Alternative explanations could be ruled out: The effect is not based on a pop-out effect arising from different motion speeds in relation to the primary-task stimuli (Experiment 2), nor is it based on a higher saliency of slow-moving unexpected objects (Experiment 3).

Should I stay or should I go? Attentional disengagement from visually unique and unexpected items at fixation.

PubMed

Brockmole, James R; Boot, Walter R

2009-06-01

Distinctive aspects of a scene can capture attention even when they are irrelevant to one's goals. The authors address whether visually unique, unexpected, but task-irrelevant features also tend to hold attention. Observers searched through displays in which the color of each item was irrelevant. At the start of search, all objects changed color. Critically, the foveated item changed to an unexpected color (it was novel), became a color singleton (it was unique), or both. Saccade latency revealed the time required to disengage overt attention from this object. Singletons resulted in longer latencies, but only if they were unexpected. Conversely, unexpected items only delayed disengagement if they were singletons. Thus, the time spent overtly attending to an object is determined, at least in part, by task-irrelevant stimulus properties, but this depends on the confluence of expectation and visual salience. (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved.

Breast Cancer Survivors’ Experiences of Lymphedema-Related Symptoms

PubMed Central

Fu, Mei Rosemary; Rosedale, Mary

2009-01-01

The purpose of this study was to explore and describe breast cancer survivors’ lymphedema-related symptom experiences. As a serious chronic condition from breast cancer treatment, lymphedema, or persistent swelling, is caused by chronic accumulation of lymph fluid in the interstitial spaces of the affected limb or surrounding areas. While significant prevalence of ongoing multiple symptoms have been reported, little is known about how survivors with lymphedema perceive and respond to lymphedema-related symptoms in their daily lives. This study employed a descriptive phenomenological method. Thirty-four participants were recruited in the US. Three in-depth interviews were conducted with each participant; a total of 102 interviews were completed, audio-taped, and transcribed. Interview transcripts and field notes were the data sources for this analysis, which was part of three larger studies. Data were analyzed to identify the essential themes within and across cases. Four essential themes were revealed: living with perpetual discomfort; confronting the unexpected; losing pre-lymphedema being; and feeling handicapped. Participants experienced multiple symptoms on a daily basis. Distress was heightened when women expected symptoms to disappear but instead they remained as a “perpetual discomfort.” Moreover, distress was intensified when symptoms evoked unexpected situations or when symptoms elicited emotional responses powerful enough to change perceived personal identity. Findings suggest that symptom distress may encompass temporal, situational and attributive dimensions. Prospective studies are needed to examine lymphedema-related symptom distress in terms of these dimensions so that more specific interventions can be developed to target distress occurring in each dimension. PMID:19819668

False-Positive Results after Environmental Pinworm PCR Testing due to Rhabditid Nematodes in Corncob Bedding

PubMed Central

Leblanc, Mathias; Berry, Kristina; Graciano, Sandy; Becker, Brandon; Reuter, Jon D

2014-01-01

Modern rodent colonies are housed in individually ventilated cages to protect the animals from contamination with adventitious pathogens. Standard health monitoring through soiled-bedding sentinels does not always detect infections, especially in the context of low pathogen prevalence. Recently proposed alternatives include analyzing environmental samples from the cages or rack exhaust by PCR to improve the detection of rodent pathogens but optimal sampling strategies have not yet been established for different microorganisms. Although generally very sensitive and specific, these molecular assays are not foolproof and subject to false-positive and –negative results and should always be interpreted cautiously with an overall understanding of the intrinsic controls and all the variables that may affect the results. Here, we report a limited Aspiculuris tetraptera outbreak in a mouse barrier facility that was detected by fecal PCR in sentinels and confirmed by fecal flotation and direct cecal examination of both sentinels and colony animals. The outbreak led to a widespread survey of all facilities for pinworms by using environmental PCR from ventilated rack exhaust plenums. Environmental PCR suggested an unexpected widespread contamination of all ventilated racks holding nonautoclaved cages, but results could not be confirmed in sentinel or colony animals by fecal flotation, cecal and colonic examination, or cage PCR testing. After additional investigation, the unexpected environmental PCR results were confirmed as false-positive findings due to the nonspecificity of the assay, leading to the amplification of rhabditid nematodes, which are not infectious in rodents but which contaminated the corncob bedding. PMID:25650980

Unexpected Decrease in Milk Production after Fenbendazole Treatment of Dairy Cows during Early Grazing Season

PubMed Central

Ravinet, Nadine; Chartier, Christophe; Bareille, Nathalie; Lehebel, Anne; Ponnau, Adeline; Brisseau, Nadine; Chauvin, Alain

2016-01-01

Gastrointestinal nematodes (GIN) infection can impair milk production (MP) in dairy cows. To investigate whether MP would be optimized by spring targeted-selective anthelmintic treatment in grazing cows, we assessed (1) the effect on MP of an anthelmintic treatment applied 1.5 to 2 months after turn-out, and (2) herd and individual indicators associated with the post-treatment MP response. A randomized controlled clinical trial was conducted in 13 dairy farms (578 cows) in western France in spring 2012. In each herd, lactating cows of the treatment group received fenbendazole orally, control cows remained untreated. Daily cow MP was recorded from 2 weeks before until 15 weeks after treatment. Individual serum pepsinogen and anti-Ostertagia antibody levels (expressed as ODR), faecal egg count and bulk tank milk (BTM) Ostertagia ODR were measured at treatment time. Anthelmintic treatment applied during the previous housing period was recorded for each cow. In each herd, information regarding heifers’ grazing and anthelmintic treatment history was collected to assess the Time of Effective Contact (TEC, in months) with GIN infective larvae before the first calving. The effect of treatment on weekly MP averages and its relationships with herd and individual indicators were studied using linear mixed models with two nested random effects (cow within herd). Unexpectedly, spring treatment had a significant detrimental effect on MP (-0.92 kg/cow/day on average). This negative MP response was particularly marked in high producing cows, in cows not treated during the previous housing period or with high pepsinogen levels, and in cows from herds with a high TEC or a high BTM ODR. This post-treatment decrease in MP may be associated with immuno-inflammatory mechanisms. Until further studies can assess whether this unexpected result can be generalized, non-persistent treatment of immunized adult dairy cows against GIN should not be recommended in early grazing season. PMID:26808824

Unexpected Decrease in Milk Production after Fenbendazole Treatment of Dairy Cows during Early Grazing Season.

PubMed

Ravinet, Nadine; Chartier, Christophe; Bareille, Nathalie; Lehebel, Anne; Ponnau, Adeline; Brisseau, Nadine; Chauvin, Alain

2016-01-01

Gastrointestinal nematodes (GIN) infection can impair milk production (MP) in dairy cows. To investigate whether MP would be optimized by spring targeted-selective anthelmintic treatment in grazing cows, we assessed (1) the effect on MP of an anthelmintic treatment applied 1.5 to 2 months after turn-out, and (2) herd and individual indicators associated with the post-treatment MP response. A randomized controlled clinical trial was conducted in 13 dairy farms (578 cows) in western France in spring 2012. In each herd, lactating cows of the treatment group received fenbendazole orally, control cows remained untreated. Daily cow MP was recorded from 2 weeks before until 15 weeks after treatment. Individual serum pepsinogen and anti-Ostertagia antibody levels (expressed as ODR), faecal egg count and bulk tank milk (BTM) Ostertagia ODR were measured at treatment time. Anthelmintic treatment applied during the previous housing period was recorded for each cow. In each herd, information regarding heifers' grazing and anthelmintic treatment history was collected to assess the Time of Effective Contact (TEC, in months) with GIN infective larvae before the first calving. The effect of treatment on weekly MP averages and its relationships with herd and individual indicators were studied using linear mixed models with two nested random effects (cow within herd). Unexpectedly, spring treatment had a significant detrimental effect on MP (-0.92 kg/cow/day on average). This negative MP response was particularly marked in high producing cows, in cows not treated during the previous housing period or with high pepsinogen levels, and in cows from herds with a high TEC or a high BTM ODR. This post-treatment decrease in MP may be associated with immuno-inflammatory mechanisms. Until further studies can assess whether this unexpected result can be generalized, non-persistent treatment of immunized adult dairy cows against GIN should not be recommended in early grazing season.

33 CFR 338.1 - Purpose.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... those cases where the discharge of fill material is also the discharge of dredged material, i.e., beach... statement for the project, new technology or unexpected events such as storms or high waters may require maintenance or remedial work not fully addressed in existing environmental documents or state permits. In...

33 CFR 338.1 - Purpose.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... those cases where the discharge of fill material is also the discharge of dredged material, i.e., beach... statement for the project, new technology or unexpected events such as storms or high waters may require maintenance or remedial work not fully addressed in existing environmental documents or state permits. In...

The Kalamazoo Promise Scholarship

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bartik, Timothy J.; Lachowska, Marta

2014-01-01

This study takes advantage of the unexpected announcement of the Kalamazoo Promise to study its effects on student achievement and behavior in high school. The Kalamazoo Promise provides college scholarships to graduates of Kalamazoo Public Schools (KPS), a midsized urban school district in Michigan that is racially and economically diverse.…

5S RRNA GENE DELETIONS CAUSE AN UNEXPECTEDLY HIGH FITNESS LOSS IN ESCHERICHIA COLI. (R825354)

EPA Science Inventory

The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Concl...

High Prevalence of Obesity in Ambulatory Children and Adolescents with Intellectual Disability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stewart, L.; Van de Ven, L.; Katsarou, V.; Rentziou, E.; Doran, M.; Jackson, P.; Reilly, J. J.; Wilson, D.

2009-01-01

Background: Obesity prevalence is unusually high among adults with intellectual disability (ID). There is limited and conflicting evidence on obesity prevalence among ambulatory children and adolescents with ID. The present study aimed to estimate obesity prevalence in this group and to compare with population prevalence. Methods: Survey of nine…

[Spatial analysis of gestational anemia in Peru, 2015].

PubMed

Hernández-Vásquez, Akram; Azañedo, Diego; Antiporta, Daniel A; Cortés, Sandra

2017-01-01

To establish regional prevalences of anemia in pregnant women receiving care at public clinics in Peru in 2015 and identify high-prevalence district conglomerates. An ecological study was carried out on data from pregnant women with anemia registered on the Nutritional Status Information System (SIEN) who received care in 7703 public clinics in 2015. Regional and district prevalences of gestational anemia were calculated. District conglomerates with a high prevalence of gestational anemia were identified using the Moran Index. Information was gathered from 311,521 pregnant women distributed in 1638 districts in Peru. The national prevalence of anemia was 24.2% (95% confidence interval [95% CI]: 24.0-24.3%), the rural prevalence was 30.5%, and the urban prevalence was 22.0%. The regions of Huancavelica (45.5%; 95% CI: 44.2-46.7%), Puno (42.8%; 95% CI: 41.9-43.7%), Pasco (38.5%; 95% CI: 36.9-40.0%), Cusco (36.0%; 95% CI: 35.3-36.8%), and Apurímac (32.0%; 95% CI: 30.8-33.1%) had the highest prevalences of anemia. The local Moran Index identified 202 high-priority districts (hot spots) (12.3% of total; 44 urban and 158 rural) located in Ancash, Apurímac, Arequipa, Ayacucho, Cajamarca, Cusco, Huancavelica, Huánuco, Junín, La Libertad, Lima, Pasco, and Puno containing high-prevalence district conglomerates. Gestational anemia in Peru has its highest prevalence rates in rural and southern mountainous areas. The district conglomerates with high prevalence rates of gestational anemia coincide with the areas of high regional prevalence.

Inflammatory Markers and Plasma Lipids in HIV Patients: A Correlation Analysis Study

PubMed Central

Muswe, Rudo; Oktedalen, Olav; Zhou, Danai T.; Zinyando, Enita; Shawarira-Bote, Sandra; Stray-Pedersen, Babill; Siziba, Atipa; Gomo, Zvenyika A.R.

2017-01-01

Background: Recent evidence suggests that HIV infection, even with treatment, increases the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) and that both chronic inflammation and traditional risk factors play key roles in HIV-associated CHD. Subjects and Methods: Patients (N=152), attending Harare HIV clinic, 26% of them male and 82% of them on antiretroviral therapy (ART), were studied. Inflammatory markers comprising of cytokines such as pro-inflammatory tumor necrosis factor-α, (TNF-α), anti-inflammatory interleukin 10, (IL-10) and highly sensitive C reactive protein (hsCRP) together with lipids were assayed using enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), immuno-turbidimetric and enzymatic assays, respectively. Correlation analysis of inflammatory markers versus lipid profiles was carried out using bivariate regression analysis. Results: Anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 and inflammatory hsCRP levels were elevated when measured in all the HIV positive patients, while TNF-α and lipid levels were within normal ranges. Pro-inflammatory TNF-α was significantly higher in ART-naive patients than ART-experienced patients, whereas the reverse was observed for anti-inflammatory IL-10 and anti-atherogenic HDL-C. Correlation analysis indicated a significant positive linear association between IL-10 and total cholesterol (TC) levels but no other correlations were found. Conclusion: High cytokine ratio (TNF-α/IL-10) indicates higher CHD risk in ART-naive patients compared to the ART-exposed. The CHD risk could be further strengthened by interplay between inflammatory markers and high prevalence of low HDL-C. Lack of correlation between pro-inflammatory markers (hsCRP and TNF-α) with lipid fractions and correlation between anti-inflammatory IL-10 with artherogenic TC were unexpected findings, necessitating further studies in future. PMID:29387269

3 CFR - Unexpected Urgent Refugee and Migration Needs Related to Cote d'Ivoire

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 3 The President 1 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Unexpected Urgent Refugee and Migration Needs Related to Cote d'Ivoire Presidential Documents Other Presidential Documents Presidential Determination No. 2011-7 of March 7, 2011 Unexpected Urgent Refugee and Migration Needs Related to Cote d'Ivoire Memorandum for the Secretary of State By the...

3 CFR - Unexpected Urgent Refugee and Migration Needs Related to the Horn of Africa

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 3 The President 1 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Unexpected Urgent Refugee and Migration Needs Related to the Horn of Africa Presidential Documents Other Presidential Documents Presidential Determination No. 2011-12 of August 8, 2011 Unexpected Urgent Refugee and Migration Needs Related to the Horn of Africa Memorandum for the Secretary of State By...

3 CFR - Unexpected Urgent Refugee and Migration Needs Related to Somalia and Food Pipeline Breaks for...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 3 The President 1 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Unexpected Urgent Refugee and Migration Needs... 8, 2010 Unexpected Urgent Refugee and Migration Needs Related to Somalia and Food Pipeline Breaks... section 2(c)(1) of the Migration and Refugee Assistance Act of 1962 (the “Act”), as amended, (22 U.S.C...

Investigating Teachers' Appraisal of Unexpected Moments and Underlying Values: An Exploratory Case in the Context of Changing Mathematics Classroom Discourse

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cavanna, Jillian M.; Herbel-Eisenmann, Beth; Seah, Wee Tiong

2015-01-01

This article provides an exploratory case study that examines what one teacher indicated as unexpected as she worked to become more purposeful about her classroom discourse practices. We found that she highlighted three areas as being unexpected: (1) aspects of lesson enactment; (2) characteristics of student learning and (3) her own…

The Influence of Attention Set, Working Memory Capacity, and Expectations on Inattentional Blindness.

PubMed

Kreitz, Carina; Furley, Philip; Memmert, Daniel; Simons, Daniel J

2016-04-01

The probability of inattentional blindness, the failure to notice an unexpected object when attention is engaged on some primary task, is influenced by contextual factors like task demands, features of the unexpected object, and the observer's attention set. However, predicting who will notice an unexpected object and who will remain inattentionally blind has proven difficult, and the evidence that individual differences in cognition affect noticing remains ambiguous. We hypothesized that greater working memory capacity might modulate the effect of attention sets on noticing because working memory is associated with the ability to focus attention selectively. People with greater working memory capacity might be better able to attend selectively to target items, thereby increasing the chances of noticing unexpected objects that were similar to the attended items while decreasing the odds of noticing unexpected objects that differed from the attended items. Our study (N = 120 participants) replicated evidence that task-induced attention sets modulate noticing but found no link between noticing and working memory capacity. Our results are largely consistent with the idea that individual differences in working memory capacity do not predict noticing of unexpected objects in an inattentional blindness task. © The Author(s) 2015.

The detection of faked identity using unexpected questions and mouse dynamics.

PubMed

Monaro, Merylin; Gamberini, Luciano; Sartori, Giuseppe

2017-01-01

The detection of faked identities is a major problem in security. Current memory-detection techniques cannot be used as they require prior knowledge of the respondent's true identity. Here, we report a novel technique for detecting faked identities based on the use of unexpected questions that may be used to check the respondent identity without any prior autobiographical information. While truth-tellers respond automatically to unexpected questions, liars have to "build" and verify their responses. This lack of automaticity is reflected in the mouse movements used to record the responses as well as in the number of errors. Responses to unexpected questions are compared to responses to expected and control questions (i.e., questions to which a liar also must respond truthfully). Parameters that encode mouse movement were analyzed using machine learning classifiers and the results indicate that the mouse trajectories and errors on unexpected questions efficiently distinguish liars from truth-tellers. Furthermore, we showed that liars may be identified also when they are responding truthfully. Unexpected questions combined with the analysis of mouse movement may efficiently spot participants with faked identities without the need for any prior information on the examinee.

Public Housing Relocations and Partnership Dynamics in Areas With High Prevalences of Sexually Transmitted Infections

PubMed Central

Cooper, Hannah L.F.; Bonney, Loida; Luo, Ruiyan; Haley, Danielle F.; Linton, Sabriya; Hunter-Jones, Josalin; Ross, Zev; Wingood, Gina M.; Adimora, Adaora A.; Rothenberg, Richard

2017-01-01

Background We investigated the implications of one structural intervention—public housing relocations—for partnership dynamics among individuals living areas with high sexually transmitted infection (STI) prevalence. High-prevalence areas fuel STI endemicity and are perpetuated by spatially assortative partnerships. Methods We analyzed 7 waves of data from a cohort of black adults (n = 172) relocating from 7 public housing complexes in Atlanta, Georgia. At each wave, data on whether participants’ sexual partners lived in the neighborhood were gathered via survey. Participant addresses were geocoded to census tracts, and measures of tract-level STI prevalence, socioeconomic conditions, and other attributes were created for each wave. “High-prevalence tracts” were tracts in the highest quartile of STI prevalence in Georgia. Descriptive statistics and hierarchical generalized linear models examined trajectories of spatially assortative partnerships and identified predictors of assortativity among participants in high-prevalence tracts. Results All 7 tracts containing public housing complexes at baseline were high-prevalence tracts; most participants relocated to high-prevalence tracts. Spatially assortative partnerships had a U-shaped distribution: the mean percent of partners living in participants’ neighborhoods at baseline was 54%; this mean declined to 28% at wave 2 and was 45% at wave 7. Participants who experienced greater postrelocation improvements in tract-level socioeconomic conditions had a lower odds of having spatially assortative partnerships (adjusted odds ratio, 1.55; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 1.06–2.26). Conclusions Public housing relocation initiatives may disrupt high-prevalence areas if residents experience significant postrelocation gains in tract-level socioeconomic conditions. PMID:26967298

Systematic Studies for the Development of High-Intensity Abs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barion, L.; Ciullo, G.; Contalbrigo, M.; Dalpiaz, P. F.; Lenisa, P.; Statera, M.

2011-01-01

The effect of the dissociator cooling temperature has been tested in order to explain the unexpected RHIC atomic beam intensity. Studies on trumpet nozzle geometry, compared to standard sonic nozzle have been performed, both with simulation methods and test bench measurements on molecular beams, obtaining promising results.

Separating the mechanism-based and off-target actions of cholesteryl ester transfer protein inhibitors with CETP gene polymorphisms

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Background—Cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) inhibitors raise high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, but torcetrapib, the first-in-class inhibitor tested in a large outcome trial, caused an unexpected blood pressure elevation and increased cardiovascular events. Whether the hypertensive...

Entrapment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hassenpflug, Ann

2004-01-01

Emily Johnson, a new high school assistant principal, ponders how to handle an unexpected dilemma over the faculty award nomination procedures. As chair of the faculty awards committee, she has to decide how to handle the arrival of late nominations. They were submitted by a committee member Jack Fitch, who had been a candidate for the assistant…

Revealing misassembled segments in the bovine reference genome by high resolution linkage disequilibrium scan

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Misassembly signatures, created by shuffling the order of sequences while assembling a genome, can be easily seen by analyzing the unexpected behaviour of the linkage disequilibrium (LD) decay. A heuristic process was proposed to identify those misassembly signatures and presented the ones found in ...

Making Sociology Relevant: The Assignment and Application of Breaching Experiments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rafalovich, Adam

2006-01-01

Breaching experiments involve the conscious exhibition of "unexpected" behavior, an observation of the types of social reactions such behavioral violations engender, and an analysis of the social structure that makes these social reactions possible. The conscious violation of norms can be highly fruitful for sociology students, providing insights…

Geospatial Technologies: Real Projects in Real Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kolvoord, Bob

2008-01-01

Geospatial technologies of geographic information systems, global positioning systems, and remote sensing are just a few of the projects that evoke an unexpected drive and devotion from high school students in Virginia. Their integration into different curricular areas lets students focus on understanding their community and the many issues that…

Gadolinium: Central Metal of the Lanthanoids

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Laing, Michael

2009-01-01

The physical and chemical properties of gadolinium are compared with those of the other lanthanoids. Some properties are intermediate between those of lanthanum and lutetium; some between those of barium and hafnium; and others (unexpectedly) between those of ytterbium and lutetium. Both the remarkably high molar heat capacity of the metal and the…

Inseparable Phone Books Demonstration

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Balta, Nuri; Çetin, Ali

2017-01-01

This study is aimed at first introducing a well-known discrepant event; inseparable phone books and second, turning it into an experiment for high school or middle school students. This discrepant event could be used especially to indicate how friction force can be effective in producing an unexpected result. Demonstration, discussion, explanation…

Compliance with a Voluntary Hepatitis B Vaccination Program.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rowe, Todd K.; Douglass, Chester W.

1988-01-01

Three years after the introduction of a voluntary hepatitis B vaccination program, the Harvard School of Dental Medicine has achieved a high vaccination rate among predoctoral students and a moderate rate among postdoctoral students and faculty. However, an unexpectedly low immunity was achieved, even among vaccinated individuals. (MSE)

Psychotic Symptomatology in a Juvenile Court Clinic Population

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lewis, Dorothy Otnow; And Others

1973-01-01

This report indicating an unexpectedly high incidence of psychotic symptomatology in a population of cases referred to the Juvenile Court Psychiatric Clinic of the Second District of Connecticut, manifests the necessity for juvenile court systems to be made aware of the possibility of psychosis in our delinquent populations. (CS)

Keeping Haines Real - Or Really Changing Haines?

Treesearch

Brian E. Potter; Dan Borsum; Don Haines

2002-01-01

Most incident command teams can handle low- to moderate-intensity fires with few unanticipated problems. However, high-intensity situations, especially the plume-dominated fires that often develop when winds are low and erratic behavior is unexpected, can create dangerous situations even for well-trained, experienced fire crews (Rothermel 1991). Plume-dominated fires...

Assessing African American Adolescents' Risk for Suicide Attempts: Attachment Theory.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lyon, Maureen E.; Benoit, Marilyn; O'Donnell, Regina M.; Getson, Pamela R.; Silber, Tomas; Walsh, Thomas

2000-01-01

Evaluates risk factors in African American adolescent suicide attempters (n=51) and nonsuicidal (n=124) adolescents. Results show that threat of separation from a parental figure, insomnia, neglect, substance abuse, suicidal ideation, and failing grades were the strongest predictors of suicide attempt. Unexpected findings include high levels of…

HIV-1 subtype F1 epidemiological networks among Italian heterosexual males are associated with introduction events from South America.

PubMed

Lai, Alessia; Simonetti, Francesco R; Zehender, Gianguglielmo; De Luca, Andrea; Micheli, Valeria; Meraviglia, Paola; Corsi, Paola; Bagnarelli, Patrizia; Almi, Paolo; Zoncada, Alessia; Paolucci, Stefania; Gonnelli, Angela; Colao, Grazia; Tacconi, Danilo; Franzetti, Marco; Ciccozzi, Massimo; Zazzi, Maurizio; Balotta, Claudia

2012-01-01

About 40% of the Italian HIV-1 epidemic due to non-B variants is sustained by F1 clade, which circulates at high prevalence in South America and Eastern Europe. Aim of this study was to define clade F1 origin, population dynamics and epidemiological networks through phylogenetic approaches. We analyzed pol sequences of 343 patients carrying F1 subtype stored in the ARCA database from 1998 to 2009. Citizenship of patients was as follows: 72.6% Italians, 9.3% South Americans and 7.3% Rumanians. Heterosexuals, Homo-bisexuals, Intravenous Drug Users accounted for 58.1%, 24.0% and 8.8% of patients, respectively. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that 70% of sequences clustered in 27 transmission networks. Two distinct groups were identified; the first clade, encompassing 56 sequences, included all Rumanian patients. The second group involved the remaining clusters and included 10 South American Homo-bisexuals in 9 distinct clusters. Heterosexual modality of infection was significantly associated with the probability to be detected in transmission networks. Heterosexuals were prevalent either among Italians (67.2%) or Rumanians (50%); by contrast, Homo-bisexuals accounted for 71.4% of South Americans. Among patients with resistant strains the proportion of clustering sequences was 57.1%, involving 14 clusters (51.8%). Resistance in clusters tended to be higher in South Americans (28.6%) compared to Italian (17.7%) and Rumanian patients (14.3%). A striking proportion of epidemiological networks could be identified in heterosexuals carrying F1 subtype residing in Italy. Italian Heterosexual males predominated within epidemiological clusters while foreign patients were mainly Heterosexual Rumanians, both males and females, and South American Homo-bisexuals. Tree topology suggested that F1 variant from South America gave rise to the Italian F1 epidemic through multiple introduction events. The contact tracing also revealed an unexpected burden of resistance in epidemiological clusters underlying the need of public interventions to limit the spread of non-B subtypes and transmitted drug resistance.

Frac Sand Mines Are Preferentially Sited in Unzoned Rural Areas.

PubMed

Locke, Christina

2015-01-01

Shifting markets can cause unexpected, stochastic changes in rural landscapes that may take local communities by surprise. Preferential siting of new industrial facilities in poor areas or in areas with few regulatory restrictions can have implications for environmental sustainability, human health, and social justice. This study focuses on frac sand mining-the mining of high-quality silica sand used in hydraulic fracturing processes for gas and oil extraction. Frac sand mining gained prominence in the 2000s in the upper midwestern United States where nonmetallic mining is regulated primarily by local zoning. I asked whether frac sand mines were more commonly sited in rural townships without formal zoning regulations or planning processes than in those that undertook zoning and planning before the frac sand boom. I also asked if mine prevalence was correlated with socioeconomic differences across townships. After creating a probability surface to map areas most suitable for frac sand mine occurrence, I developed neutral landscape models from which to compare actual mine distributions in zoned and unzoned areas at three different spatial extents. Mines were significantly clustered in unzoned jurisdictions at the statewide level and in 7 of the 8 counties with at least three frac sand mines and some unzoned land. Subsequent regression analyses showed mine prevalence to be uncorrelated with land value, tax rate, or per capita income, but correlated with remoteness and zoning. The predicted mine count in unzoned townships was over two times higher than that in zoned townships. However, the county with the most mines by far was under a county zoning ordinance, perhaps indicating industry preferences for locations with clear, homogenous rules over patchwork regulation. Rural communities can use the case of frac sand mining as motivation to discuss and plan for sudden land-use predicaments, rather than wait to grapple with unfamiliar legal processes during a period of intense conflict.

Frac Sand Mines Are Preferentially Sited in Unzoned Rural Areas

PubMed Central

Locke, Christina

2015-01-01

Shifting markets can cause unexpected, stochastic changes in rural landscapes that may take local communities by surprise. Preferential siting of new industrial facilities in poor areas or in areas with few regulatory restrictions can have implications for environmental sustainability, human health, and social justice. This study focuses on frac sand mining—the mining of high-quality silica sand used in hydraulic fracturing processes for gas and oil extraction. Frac sand mining gained prominence in the 2000s in the upper midwestern United States where nonmetallic mining is regulated primarily by local zoning. I asked whether frac sand mines were more commonly sited in rural townships without formal zoning regulations or planning processes than in those that undertook zoning and planning before the frac sand boom. I also asked if mine prevalence was correlated with socioeconomic differences across townships. After creating a probability surface to map areas most suitable for frac sand mine occurrence, I developed neutral landscape models from which to compare actual mine distributions in zoned and unzoned areas at three different spatial extents. Mines were significantly clustered in unzoned jurisdictions at the statewide level and in 7 of the 8 counties with at least three frac sand mines and some unzoned land. Subsequent regression analyses showed mine prevalence to be uncorrelated with land value, tax rate, or per capita income, but correlated with remoteness and zoning. The predicted mine count in unzoned townships was over two times higher than that in zoned townships. However, the county with the most mines by far was under a county zoning ordinance, perhaps indicating industry preferences for locations with clear, homogenous rules over patchwork regulation. Rural communities can use the case of frac sand mining as motivation to discuss and plan for sudden land-use predicaments, rather than wait to grapple with unfamiliar legal processes during a period of intense conflict. PMID:26136238

Undiagnosed pancreatic exocrine insufficiency and chronic pancreatitis in functional GI disorder patients with diarrhea or abdominal pain.

PubMed

Talley, Nicholas J; Holtmann, Gerald; Nguyen, Quoc Nam; Gibson, Peter; Bampton, Peter; Veysey, Martin; Wong, James; Philcox, Stephen; Koloski, Natasha; Bunby, Lisa; Jones, Michael

2017-11-01

A previous UK study showed that 6.1% of patients with diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-D) had evidence of severe pancreatic exocrine insufficiency (PEI), but these findings need replication. We aimed to identify the prevalence of PEI based on fecal elastase stool testing in consecutive outpatients presenting with chronic unexplained abdominal pain and/or diarrhea and/or IBS-D. Patients aged over 40 years presenting to hospital outpatient clinics from six sites within Australia with unexplained abdominal pain and/or diarrhea for at least 3 months and/or IBS-D were studied. Patients completed validated questionnaires and donated a stool sample in which elastase concentration was measured by ELISA. A concentration of < 100 mcg/g stool represented severe and < 200 mcg/g mild to moderate PEI. Patients whose fecal elastase was < 200 mcg/g underwent testing for pancreatic pathology with an endoscopic ultrasound or abdominal CT. Two hundred eighteen patients (mean age of 60 years, 29.4% male) were studied. PEI was found in 4.6% (95% CI 2.2-8.3%) (n = 10), with five patients (2.3% (95% CI 0.8-5.3%) having severe PEI. Only male sex and heavy alcohol use were significantly associated with abnormal versus normal pancreatic functioning. Of seven patients who underwent endoscopic ultrasound or CT, two had features indicative of chronic pancreatitis. One in 50 patients with IBS-D or otherwise unexplained abdominal pain or diarrhea have an abnormal fecal elastase, but unexpected pancreatic insufficiency was detected in only a minority of these. This study failed to confirm the high prevalence of PEI among patients with unexplained GI symptoms previously reported. © 2017 Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology Foundation and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

Pre-use anesthesia machine check; certified anesthesia technician based quality improvement audit.

PubMed

Al Suhaibani, Mazen; Al Malki, Assaf; Al Dosary, Saad; Al Barmawi, Hanan; Pogoku, Mahdhav

2014-01-01

Quality assurance of providing a work ready machine in multiple theatre operating rooms in a tertiary modern medical center in Riyadh. The aim of the following study is to keep high quality environment for workers and patients in surgical operating rooms. Technicians based audit by using key performance indicators to assure inspection, passing test of machine worthiness for use daily and in between cases and in case of unexpected failure to provide quick replacement by ready to use another anesthetic machine. The anesthetic machines in all operating rooms are daily and continuously inspected and passed as ready by technicians and verified by anesthesiologist consultant or assistant consultant. The daily records of each machines were collected then inspected for data analysis by quality improvement committee department for descriptive analysis and report the degree of staff compliance to daily inspection as "met" items. Replaced machine during use and overall compliance. Distractive statistic using Microsoft Excel 2003 tables and graphs of sums and percentages of item studied in this audit. Audit obtained highest compliance percentage and low rate of replacement of machine which indicate unexpected machine state of use and quick machine switch. The authors are able to conclude that following regular inspection and running self-check recommended by the manufacturers can contribute to abort any possibility of hazard of anesthesia machine failure during operation. Furthermore in case of unexpected reason to replace the anesthesia machine in quick maneuver contributes to high assured operative utilization of man machine inter-phase in modern surgical operating rooms.

Mumps resurgences in the United States: A historical perspective on unexpected elements.

PubMed

Barskey, Albert E; Glasser, John W; LeBaron, Charles W

2009-10-19

In 2006 the United States experienced the largest nationwide mumps epidemic in 20 years, primarily affecting college dormitory residents. Unexpected elements of the outbreak included very abrupt time course (75% of cases occurred within 90 days), geographic focality (85% of cases occurred in eight rural Midwestern states), rapid upward and downward shift in peak age-specific attack rate (5-9-year olds to 18-24-year olds, then back), and two-dose vaccine failure (63% of case-patients had received two doses). To construct a historical context in which to understand the recent outbreak, we reviewed US mumps surveillance data, vaccination coverage estimates, and relevant peer-reviewed literature for the period 1917-2008. Many of the unexpected features of the 2006 mumps outbreak had been reported several times previously in the US, e.g., the 1986-1987 mumps resurgence had extremely abrupt onset, rural geographic focality, and an upward-then-downward age shift. Evidence suggested recurrent mumps outbreak patterns were attributable to accumulation of susceptibles in dispersed situations where the risk of endemic disease exposure was low and were triggered when this susceptible population was brought together in crowded living conditions. The 2006 epidemic followed this pattern, with two unique variations: it was preceded by a period of very high vaccination rates and very low disease incidence and was characterized by two-dose failure rates among adults vaccinated in childhood. Data from the past 80 years suggest that preventing future mumps epidemics will depend on innovative measures to detect and eliminate build-up of susceptibles among highly vaccinated populations.

Learning from the unexpected in life and DNA self-assembly

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

Summary The greatest lessons in life and science often arise from the unexpected. Thus, rather than viewing these experiences as hindering our progress, they should be embraced and appreciated for their ability to lead to new discoveries. In this perspective, I will discuss the unexpected events that have shaped my career path and the early stages of my independent research program. PMID:26877793

3 CFR - Unexpected Urgent Refugee and Migration Needs Related to Libya and Côte d'Ivoire

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 3 The President 1 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Unexpected Urgent Refugee and Migration Needs Related to Libya and Côte d'Ivoire Presidential Documents Other Presidential Documents Presidential Determination No. 2011-11 of June 8, 2011 Unexpected Urgent Refugee and Migration Needs Related to Libya and Côte d'Ivoire Memorandum for the Secretary of...

Unexpected mechanisms of resistance in Dutch Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates collected during fourteen years of surveillance.

PubMed

Croughs, P D; Klaassen, C H W; van Rosmalen, J; Maghdid, D M; Boers, S A; Hays, J P; Goessens, W H F

2018-05-14

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is one of the most important causes of infection in the intensive care unit. It is intrinsically resistant to many antibiotics and easily acquires additional resistance genes via horizontal gene transfer of mobile genetic elements. In the present study, 1,528 P. aeruginosa isolates, obtained from a Dutch national surveillance program between the years 1998 and 2011, were analyzed for the presence of Extended Spectrum β-Lactamase (ESBL) genes bla CTX-M , bla SHV , bla TEM , bla BEL , bla PER , bla VEB , bla OXA-10 and metallo-β-Lactamase (MBL) genes bla IMP , bla VIM and bla NDM . Six percent of ceftazidime-resistant isolates tested positive for ESBL and a Verona Integron-Encoded Metallo-β-Lactamase (VIM) gene was found in 3% of the isolates that were phenotypically resistant to imipenem, and/or meropenem. Genotyping of ESBL-positive isolates indicated ST1216, ST111, and ST622 genotypes, with all VIM-positive isolates belonging to the ST111 clone. Although the prevalence of ESBL and MBL phenotypes in this Dutch national surveillance collection of over 1500 ICU P. aeruginosa isolates was very low, all VIM-producing isolates belonged to the high risk-associated, international, clonal complex CC111 and most ESBL-producing isolates belonged to clonal complexes known for their successful spread e.g. CC111 and CC235. The current data indicates that high risk clones of P. aeruginosa were present in the Netherlands between 1998-2011 and probably spread unnoticed throughout Dutch hospitals. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Falls-risk post-stroke: Examining contributions from paretic versus non paretic limbs to unexpected forward gait slips.

PubMed

Kajrolkar, Tejal; Bhatt, Tanvi

2016-09-06

Community-dwelling stroke survivors show a high incidence of falls with unexpected external perturbations during dynamic activities like walking. Previous evidence has demonstrated the importance of compensatory stepping to restore dynamic stability in response to perturbations in hemiparetic stroke survivors. However, these studies were limited to either stance perturbations or perturbation induced under the unaffected limb. This study aimed to compare the differences, if any, between the non-paretic and paretic sides in dynamic stability and protective stepping strategies when exposed to unexpected external perturbation during walking. Twenty hemiparetic subjects experienced an unexpected forward slip during walking on the laboratory walkway either on the paretic (n=10) or the nonparetic limb (n=10). Both groups demonstrated a backward loss of balance with a compensatory stepping response, with the nonparetic-side slip group resorting mainly to an aborted step response (60%) and the paretic-side slip group mainly exhibiting a recovery step response (90%). Although both groups showed an equal incidence of falls, the nonparetic-side slip group demonstrated a higher stability at recovery step touchdown, resulting from lower perturbation magnitudes (slip displacement and velocity) compared to the paretic-side slip group. The results indicate that the paretic side had difficulty initiating and executing a successful stepping response (nonparetic-side slip) and also in reactive limb control while in stance (paretic-side slip). Based on these results it is suggested that intervention strategies for fall-prevention in chronic stroke survivors should focus on paretic limb training for both reactive stepping and weight bearing for improving balance control for recovery from unpredictable perturbations during dynamic activities such as walking. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

[Prevalence of HPV high-risk serotypes detected by PCR in patients with normal cervical cytology at the Hospital Regional Adolfo López Mateos, ISSSTE].

PubMed

Martínez-Portilla, R J; López-Velázquez, J L; Martínez-Rojas, G C; Aguilar-Villagómez, M I; De la Torre-Rendón, F E; Villafán-Bernal, J R

2016-09-01

Is fundamental to determine the prevalence of human papiloma virus (HVP) high-risk serotypes in local and regional population in order for health providers to offer patients, vaccines and treatments against specific population-based serotypes. To determine the prevalence of HPV High risk serotypes detected by PCR in patients with normal cytology from the ISSSTE Adolfo Lopez Mateos Regional Hospital. An observational, descriptive, prospective study was conducted from cervical cytologies and high risk HPV test by PCR in patients from the Regional Hospital Adolfo López Mateos, ISSSTE, during the period January 2013-December 2015. Cases of patients with negative cervical cytology were included. Information about age, the result of cervical cytology and high risk HPV test by PCR was obtained. The overall prevalence of HPV infection and the most prevalent serotypes by age groups were calculated. A total of 3258 cervical smears were performed, of which 2557 were negative (78.4%), from this, the global prevalence of HPV infection was 10.2% (n=262). We found that 1.8% (n = 45) of negative reports had HPV16 infection, 0.5% (n=13) had HPV18 and 8.9% (n = 227) were infected by Viral Pool of other high-risk serotypes. The prevalence of infection by viral pool of high risk serotypes was 11.5% in women <20 years, 12.9% in women between 20-29 years and 22.2% in women between 30-39 years. This prevalence was lower in patients older than 40 years (p<0.05). A higher prevalence of viral pool high risk serotypes was found in patients with normal cytology, than the HPV16 and HPV-8 prevalence, which was significantly higher in women younger than 40 years.

Acquiring High-Performance Deep-Blue OLED Emitters through an Unexpected Blueshift Color-Tuning Effect Induced by Electron-Donating -OMe Substituents.

PubMed

Peng, Song; Zhao, Yihuan; Fu, Caixia; Pu, Xuemei; Zhou, Liang; Huang, Yan; Lu, Zhiyun

2018-06-07

A series of blue-emissive 7-(diphenylamino)-4-phenoxycoumarin derivatives bearing -CF 3 , -OMe, or -N(Me) 2 substituents on the phenoxy subunit were synthesized. Although both the -CF 3 and -N(Me) 2 modifications were found to trigger redshifted fluorescence, the -OMe substitution was demonstrated to exert an unexpected blueshift color-tuning effect toward the deep-blue region. The reason is that the moderate electron-donating -OMe group can endow coumarins with unaltered HOMO but elevated LUMO energy levels. Moreover, the -OMe substitution was found to be beneficial to the thermal stability of these coumarins. Therefore, the trimethoxy-substituted objective compound can act as a high-performance deep-blue organic light-emitting diode (OLED) emitter, and OLED based on it emits deep-blue light with CIE coordinates of (0.148, 0.084), maximum luminance of 7800 cd m -2 , and maximum external quantum efficiency of 5.1 %. These results not only shed light on the molecular design strategy for high-performance deep-blue OLED emitters through color-tuning, but also show the perspective of coumarin derivatives as deep-blue OLED emitters. © 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Occupational-level interactions between physical hazards and cognitive ability and skill requirements in predicting injury incidence rates.

PubMed

Ford, Michael T; Wiggins, Bryan K

2012-07-01

Interactions between occupational-level physical hazards and cognitive ability and skill requirements were examined as predictors of injury incidence rates as reported by the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Based on ratings provided in the Occupational Information Network (O*NET) database, results across 563 occupations indicate that physical hazards at the occupational level were strongly related to injury incidence rates. Also, as expected, the physical hazard-injury rate relationship was stronger among occupations with high cognitive ability and skill requirements. In addition, there was an unexpected main effect such that occupations with high cognitive ability and skill requirements had lower injury rates even after controlling for physical hazards. The main effect of cognitive ability and skill requirements, combined with the interaction with physical hazards, resulted in unexpectedly high injury rates for low-ability and low-skill occupations with low physical hazard levels. Substantive and methodological explanations for these interactions and their theoretical and practical implications are offered. Results suggest that organizations and occupational health and safety researchers and practitioners should consider the occupational level of analysis and interactions between physical hazards and cognitive requirements in future research and practice when attempting to understand and prevent injuries.

Molecular study on human tuberculosis in three geographically distinct and time delineated populations from ancient Egypt.

PubMed Central

Zink, A. R.; Grabner, W.; Reischl, U.; Wolf, H.; Nerlich, A. G.

2003-01-01

We describe the molecular identification of human tuberculosis (TB) from vertebral bone tissue samples from three different populations of ancient Egypt. The specimens were obtained from the predynastic to early dynastic necropolis of Abydos (7 individuals, c. 3500-2650 B.C.), from a Middle Kingdom to Second Intermediate Period tomb of the necropolis of Thebes-West (37. c. 2100-1550 B.C.) and from five further Theban tombs used in the New Kingdom and the Late Period (39, c. 1450-500 B.C.). A total of 18 cases tested positive for the presence of ancient DNA (aDNA) of the M. tuberculosis complex. Out of the 9 cases with typical macromorphological signs of tuberculous spondylitis, 6 were positive for mycobacterial aDNA (66.7%). Of 24 cases with non-specific pathological alterations, 5 provided a positive result (20.8%). In 50 cases of normally appearing vertebral bones 7 tested positive (14.0%). There were only minor differences in the frequencies between the three populations. These data strongly support the notion that tuberculosis was present and prevalent in ancient Egypt since very early periods of this civilization. The unexpectedly high rate of mycobacterial aDNA in normal bone samples is presumably due to a pre- to perimortal systemic spread of the bacteria and indicates a generalized infection by M. tuberculosis. PMID:12729192

Monoclonal B-cell lymphocytosis in healthy blood donors: an unexpectedly common finding.

PubMed

Shim, Youn K; Rachel, Jane M; Ghia, Paolo; Boren, Jeff; Abbasi, Fatima; Dagklis, Antonis; Venable, Geri; Kang, Jiyeon; Degheidy, Heba; Plapp, Fred V; Vogt, Robert F; Menitove, Jay E; Marti, Gerald E

2014-02-27

Circulating monoclonal B cells may be detected in healthy adults, a condition called monoclonal B-cell lymphocytosis (MBL). MBL has also been identified in donated blood, but no systematic study of blood donors has been reported. Using sensitive and specific laboratory methods, we detected MBL in 149 (7.1%; 95% confidence interval, 6.0% to 8.3%) of 2098 unique donors ages 45 years or older in a Midwestern US regional blood center between 2010 and 2011. Most of the 149 donors had low-count MBL, including 99 chronic lymphocytic leukemia-like (66.4%), 22 atypical (14.8%), and 19 CD5(-) (12.8%) immunophenotypes. However, 5 donors (3.4%) had B-cell clonal counts above 500 cells per µL, including 3 with 1693 to 2887 cells per µL; the clone accounted for nearly all their circulating B cells. Four donors (2.7%) had 2 distinct MBL clones. Of 51 MBL samples in which immunoglobulin heavy chain (IGH)V-D-J genotypes could be determined, 71% and 29% used IGHV3- and IGHV4-family genes, respectively. Sequencing revealed 82% with somatic hypermutation, whereas 18% had >98% germ-line identity, including 5 with entirely germ-line sequences. In conclusion, MBL prevalence is much higher in blood donors than previously reported, and although uncommon, the presence of high-count MBL warrants further investigations to define the biological fate of the transfused cells in recipients.

AMPK Re-Activation Suppresses Hepatic Steatosis but its Downregulation Does Not Promote Fatty Liver Development.

PubMed

Boudaba, Nadia; Marion, Allison; Huet, Camille; Pierre, Rémi; Viollet, Benoit; Foretz, Marc

2018-02-01

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is a highly prevalent component of disorders associated with disrupted energy homeostasis. Although dysregulation of the energy sensor AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is viewed as a pathogenic factor in the development of fatty liver its role has not been directly demonstrated. Unexpectedly, we show here that liver-specific AMPK KO mice display normal hepatic lipid homeostasis and are not prone to fatty liver development, indicating that the decreases in AMPK activity associated with hepatic steatosis may be a consequence, rather than a cause, of changes in hepatic metabolism. In contrast, we found that pharmacological re-activation of downregulated AMPK in fatty liver is sufficient to normalize hepatic lipid content. Mechanistically, AMPK activation reduces hepatic triglyceride content both by inhibiting lipid synthesis and by stimulating fatty acid oxidation in an LKB1-dependent manner, through a transcription-independent mechanism. Furthermore, the effect of the antidiabetic drug metformin on lipogenesis inhibition and fatty acid oxidation stimulation was enhanced by combination treatment with small-molecule AMPK activators in primary hepatocytes from mice and humans. Overall, these results demonstrate that AMPK downregulation is not a triggering factor in fatty liver development but in contrast, establish the therapeutic impact of pharmacological AMPK re-activation in the treatment of fatty liver disease. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Comparison of intermittent preventive treatment with chemoprophylaxis for the prevention of malaria during pregnancy in Mali.

PubMed

Kayentao, Kassoum; Kodio, Mamoudou; Newman, Robert D; Maiga, Hamma; Doumtabe, Didier; Ongoiba, Aissata; Coulibaly, Drissa; Keita, Abdoul Salam; Maiga, Bouboucar; Mungai, Mary; Parise, Monica E; Doumbo, Ogobara

2005-01-01

Malaria during pregnancy contributes to maternal anemia and low birth weight. In East Africa, several studies have demonstrated that intermittent preventive treatment (IPT) with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) is more efficacious than weekly chloroquine (CQ) chemoprophylaxis in preventing these adverse consequences. To our knowledge, there are no published trials evaluating IPT in West Africa. We undertook a randomized controlled trial of weekly CQ chemoprophylaxis, 2-dose IPT with CQ, and 2-dose IPT with SP; 1163 women were enrolled. In multivariate analyses, when compared with weekly CQ, IPT/SP was associated with a reduction in third-trimester anemia (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 0.49; P<.001), placental parasitemia (AOR, 0.69; P=.04), and low birth weight (<2500 g) (AOR, 0.69; P=.04). The prevalence of placental infection remained unexpectedly high, even in the IPT/SP group (24.5%), possibly because of the intensity of seasonal transmission. There were no significant differences in stillbirths, spontaneous abortions, or neonatal deaths among the 3 groups. In Mali, IPT with SP appears more efficacious than weekly chloroquine chemoprophylaxis in preventing malaria during pregnancy. These data support World Health Organization recommendations to administer at least 2 doses of IPT during pregnancy. In intensely seasonal transmission settings in Mali, >2 doses may be required to prevent placental reinfection prior to delivery.

Detection and identification of Leishmania spp.: application of two hsp70-based PCR-RFLP protocols to clinical samples from the New World.

PubMed

Montalvo, Ana M; Fraga, Jorge; Tirado, Dídier; Blandón, Gustavo; Alba, Annia; Van der Auwera, Gert; Vélez, Iván Darío; Muskus, Carlos

2017-07-01

Leishmaniasis is highly prevalent in New World countries, where several methods are available for detection and identification of Leishmania spp. Two hsp70-based PCR protocols (PCR-N and PCR-F) and their corresponding restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLP) were applied for detection and identification of Leishmania spp. in clinical samples recruited in Colombia, Guatemala, and Honduras. A total of 93 cases were studied. The samples were classified into positive or suspected of leishmaniasis according to parasitological criteria. Molecular amplification of two different hsp70 gene fragments and further RFLP analysis for identification of Leishmania species was done. The detection in parasitologically positive samples was higher using PCR-N than PCR-F. In the total of samples studied, the main species identified were Leishmania panamensis, Leishmania braziliensis, and Leishmania infantum (chagasi). Although RFLP-N was more efficient for the identification, RFLP-F is necessary for discrimination between L. panamensis and Leishmania guyanesis, of great importance in Colombia. Unexpectedly, one sample from this country revealed an RFLP pattern corresponding to Leishmania naiffi. Both molecular variants are applicable for the study of clinical samples originated in Colombia, Honduras, and Guatemala. Choosing the better tool for each setting depends on the species circulating. More studies are needed to confirm the presence of L. naiffi in Colombian territory.

A longitudinal study of urea cycle disorders.

PubMed

Batshaw, Mark L; Tuchman, Mendel; Summar, Marshall; Seminara, Jennifer

2014-01-01

The Urea Cycle Disorders Consortium (UCDC) is a member of the NIH funded Rare Diseases Clinical Research Network and is performing a longitudinal study of 8 urea cycle disorders (UCDs) with initial enrollment beginning in 2006. The consortium consists of 14 sites in the U.S., Canada and Europe. This report summarizes data mining studies of 614 patients with UCDs enrolled in the UCDC's longitudinal study protocol. The most common disorder is ornithine transcarbamylase deficiency, accounting for more than half of the participants. We calculated the overall prevalence of urea cycle disorders to be 1/35,000, with 2/3rds presenting initial symptoms after the newborn period. We found the mortality rate to be 24% in neonatal onset cases and 11% in late onset cases. The most common precipitant of clinical hyperammonemic episodes in the post-neonatal period was intercurrent infections. Elevations in both blood ammonia and glutamine appeared to be biomarkers for neurocognitive outcome. In terms of chronic treatment, low protein diet appeared to result in normal weight but decreased linear growth while N-scavenger therapy with phenylbutyrate resulted in low levels of branched chain amino acids. Finally, we found an unexpectedly high risk for hepatic dysfunction in patients with ornithine transcarbamylase deficiency. This natural history study illustrates how a collaborative study of a rare genetic disorder can result in an improved understanding of morbidity and disease outcome. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Orbitofrontal overactivation in reward processing in borderline personality disorder: the role of non-suicidal self-injury.

PubMed

Vega, Daniel; Ripollés, Pablo; Soto, Àngel; Torrubia, Rafael; Ribas, Joan; Monreal, Jose Antonio; Pascual, Juan Carlos; Salvador, Raymond; Pomarol-Clotet, Edith; Rodríguez-Fornells, Antoni; Marco-Pallarés, Josep

2018-02-01

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is a disabling and difficult-to-treat mental disease. One of its core features is a significant difficulty in affect regulation, which is often accompanied by Non-Suicidal Self-Injury (NSSI). It is suggested that this type of behavior elicits positive emotions and mitigates emotional distress, and therefore can ultimately be reinforced and promoted. In spite of the high prevalence of NSSI behaviors (also in non-BPD samples), their role in modulating reward-related processes has not yet been investigated in BPD patients. In the present study, this lack of research was addressed. A large sample of BPD patients (N = 40), divided into two groups depending on the presence of NSSI, and a group of matched healthy controls underwent functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) while performing a gambling task. Patients who committed NSSI acts exhibited enhanced activation of the orbitofrontal cortex following an unexpected reward, when compared with controls and BPD patients with no NSSI behavior. In addition, the NSSI group showed diminished functional connectivity between the left orbitofrontal cortex and the right parahippocampal gyrus. These findings might suggest impaired ability to update reward associations of potential choices when both BPD and NSSI are present. We propose that the presence of NSSI involves alterations in the reward system independently of BPD, and thus can be considered as a possible phenotype for reward-related alterations.

Method of treating intermetallic alloy hydrogenation/oxidation catalysts for improved impurity poisoning resistance, regeneration and increased activity

DOEpatents

Wright, Randy B.

1992-01-01

Alternate, successive high temperature oxidation and reduction treatments, in either order, of intermetallic alloy hydrogenation and intermetallic alloy oxidation catalysts unexpectedly improves the impurity poisoning resistance, regeneration capacity and/or activity of the catalysts. The particular alloy, and the final high temperature treatment given alloy (oxidation or reduction) will be chosen to correspond to the function of the catalyst (oxidation or hydrogenation).

Unexpectedly high piezoelectricity of Sm-doped lead zirconate titanate in the Curie point region.

PubMed

Seshadri, Shruti B; Nolan, Michelle M; Tutuncu, Goknur; Forrester, Jennifer S; Sapper, Eva; Esteves, Giovanni; Granzow, Torsten; Thomas, Pam A; Nino, Juan C; Rojac, Tadej; Jones, Jacob L

2018-03-07

Large piezoelectric coefficients in polycrystalline lead zirconate titanate (PZT) are traditionally achieved through compositional design using a combination of chemical substitution with a donor dopant and adjustment of the zirconium to titanium compositional ratio to meet the morphotropic phase boundary (MPB). In this work, a different route to large piezoelectricity is demonstrated. Results reveal unexpectedly high piezoelectric coefficients at elevated temperatures and compositions far from the MPB. At temperatures near the Curie point, doping with 2 at% Sm results in exceptionally large piezoelectric coefficients of up to 915 pm/V. This value is approximately twice those of other donor dopants (e.g., 477 pm/V for Nb and 435 pm/V for La). Structural changes during the phase transitions of Sm-doped PZT show a pseudo-cubic phase forming ≈50 °C below the Curie temperature. Possible origins of these effects are discussed and the high piezoelectricity is posited to be due to extrinsic effects. The enhancement of the mechanism at elevated temperatures is attributed to the coexistence of tetragonal and pseudo-cubic phases, which enables strain accommodation during electromechanical deformation and interphase boundary motion. This work provides insight into possible routes for designing high performance piezoelectrics which are alternatives to traditional methods relying on MPB compositions.

High-throughput sequencing-based analysis of endogenetic fungal communities inhabiting the Chinese Cordyceps reveals unexpectedly high fungal diversity

PubMed Central

Xia, Fei; Chen, Xin; Guo, Meng-Yuan; Bai, Xiao-Hui; Liu, Yan; Shen, Guang-Rong; Li, Yu-Ling; Lin, Juan; Zhou, Xuan-Wei

2016-01-01

Chinese Cordyceps, known in Chinese as “DongChong XiaCao”, is a parasitic complex of a fungus (Ophiocordyceps sinensis) and a caterpillar. The current study explored the endogenetic fungal communities inhabiting Chinese Cordyceps. Samples were collected from five different geographical regions of Qinghai and Tibet, and the nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer-1 sequences from each sample were obtained using Illumina high-throughput sequencing. The results showed that Ascomycota was the dominant fungal phylum in Chinese Cordyceps and its soil microhabitat from different sampling regions. Among the Ascomycota, 65 genera were identified, and the abundant operational taxonomic units showed the strongest sequence similarity to Ophiocordyceps, Verticillium, Pseudallescheria, Candida and Ilyonectria Not surprisingly, the genus Ophiocordyceps was the largest among the fungal communities identified in the fruiting bodies and external mycelial cortices of Chinese Cordyceps. In addition, fungal communities in the soil microhabitats were clustered separately from the external mycelial cortices and fruiting bodies of Chinese Cordyceps from different sampling regions. There was no significant structural difference in the fungal communities between the fruiting bodies and external mycelial cortices of Chinese Cordyceps. This study revealed an unexpectedly high diversity of fungal communities inhabiting the Chinese Cordyceps and its microhabitats. PMID:27625176

Unexpected selections of Plasmodium falciparum polymorphisms in previously treatment-naïve areas after monthly presumptive administration of three different anti-malarial drugs in Liberia 1976-78.

PubMed

Jovel, Irina T; Björkman, Anders; Roper, Cally; Mårtensson, Andreas; Ursing, Johan

2017-03-13

To assess the effect on malaria prevalence, village specific monthly administrations of pyrimethamine, chlorproguanil, chloroquine or placebo were given to children in four previously treatment-naïve Liberian villages, 1976-78. Plasmodium falciparum in vivo resistance developed to pyrimethamine only. Selection of molecular markers of P. falciparum resistance after 2 years of treatment are reported. Blood samples were collected from 191 study children in a survey in 1978. Polymorphisms in pfcrt, pfmdr1, pfdhfr, pfdhps, pfmrp1 and pfnhe1 genes were determined using PCR-based methods. Pfcrt 72-76 CVIET was found in one chloroquine village sample, all remaining samples had pfcrt CVMNK. Pfmdr1 N86 prevalence was 100%. A pfmdr1 T1069 ACT→ACG synonymous polymorphism was found in 30% of chloroquine village samples and 3% of other samples (P = 0.008). Variations in pfnhe1 block I were found in all except the chloroquine treated village (P < 0.001). Resistance associated pfdhfr 108N prevalence was 2% in the pyrimethamine village compared to 45-65% elsewhere, including the placebo village (P = 0.001). Chloroquine treatment possibly resulted in the development of pfcrt 72-76 CVIET. Selection of pfmdr1 T1069 ACG and a pfnhe1 block 1 genotypes indicates that chloroquine treatment exerted a selective pressure on P. falciparum. Pyrimethamine resistance associated pfdhfr 108N was present prior to the introduction of any drug. Decreased pfdhfr 108N frequency concurrent with development of pyrimethamine resistance suggests a non-pfdhfr polymorphisms mediated resistance mechanism.

Distinctive Clinical Profile of Blacks Versus Whites Presenting With Sudden Cardiac Arrest.

PubMed

Reinier, Kyndaron; Nichols, Gregory A; Huertas-Vazquez, Adriana; Uy-Evanado, Audrey; Teodorescu, Carmen; Stecker, Eric C; Gunson, Karen; Jui, Jonathan; Chugh, Sumeet S

2015-08-04

Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) is a major contributor to mortality, but data are limited among nonwhites. Identification of differences in clinical profile based on race may provide opportunities for improved SCA prevention. In the ongoing Oregon Sudden Unexpected Death Study (SUDS), individuals experiencing SCA in the Portland, OR, metropolitan area were identified prospectively. Patient demographics, arrest circumstances, and pre-SCA clinical profile were compared by race among cases from 2002 to 2012 (for clinical history, n=126 blacks, n=1262 whites). Incidence rates were calculated for cases from the burden assessment phase (2002-2005; n=1077). Age-adjusted rates were 2-fold higher among black men and women (175 and 90 per 100 000, respectively) compared with white men and women (84 and 40 per 100 000, respectively). Compared with whites, blacks were >6 years younger at the time of SCA and had a higher prearrest prevalence of diabetes mellitus (52% versus 33%; P<0.0001), hypertension (77% versus 65%; P=0.006), and chronic renal insufficiency (34% versus 19%; P<0.0001). There were no racial differences in previously documented coronary artery disease or left ventricular dysfunction, but blacks had more prevalent congestive heart failure (43% versus 34%; P=0.04) and left ventricular hypertrophy (77% versus 58%; P=0.02) and a longer QTc interval (466±36 versus 453±41 milliseconds; P=0.03). In this US community, the burden of SCA was significantly higher in blacks compared with whites. Blacks with SCA had a higher prearrest prevalence of risk factors beyond established coronary artery disease, providing potential targets for race-specific prevention. © 2015 American Heart Association, Inc.

One-year prospective follow-up of pharmacological treatment in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

PubMed

Didoni, Anna; Sequi, Marco; Panei, Pietro; Bonati, Maurizio

2011-10-01

To delineate the safety and tolerability profile of methylphenidate and atomoxetine in children and adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) monitored for more than 1 year. A cohort study analyzing data from the national ADHD register on patients from the Lombardy Region treated with MPH or atomoxetine. A total of 229 children (median age 11 years, range 6-17), enrolled in 15 regional centers between June 2007 and May 2010. The prevalence rate of pharmacological treatment for ADHD was 0.23%, whereas the estimated ADHD prevalence in the population was 0.95%. In total, 73.8% of patients had been treated with atomoxetine (10-90 mg daily) or MPH (10-75 mg daily); 22% of patients also received an additional psychotropic drug. Of the treated children, 26.9% discontinued the drug prior to 1 year of treatment, mostly because of adverse effects (28.6%). No new or unexpected adverse events (rate 39.2%) were encountered. Decreased appetite, headache, and unstable mood were the leading events. The most severe events occurred in two boys: one experienced absence seizures for the first time with MPH, the other experienced hallucinations with atomoxetine. Therapy was discontinued in ten male patients (7.7%) because of adverse events. All patients with adverse effects recovered well. A very low rate of ADHD prevalence was estimated in Italian children compared to that reported in other countries. Although the medications for ADHD are generally well tolerated, with only mild or minor adverse effects in most cases, their rational use can only be guaranteed by disseminating and monitoring evidence-based practices and by monitoring the safety and efficacy of treatments in both the short and long terms with appropriate tools and approaches.

Defining Chronic Cough: A Systematic Review of the Epidemiological Literature

PubMed Central

Song, Woo-Jung; Chang, Yoon-Seok; Faruqi, Shoaib; Kang, Min-Koo; Kim, Ju-Young; Kang, Min-Gyu; Kim, Sujeong; Jo, Eun-Jung; Lee, Seung-Eun; Kim, Min-Hye; Plevkova, Jana; Park, Heung-Woo

2016-01-01

Purpose Recent evidence suggests a global burden of chronic cough in general populations. However, the definitions vary greatly among epidemiological studies, and none have been validated for clinical relevance. We aimed to examine previous epidemiological definitions in detail and explore the operational characteristics. Methods A systematic review was conducted for epidemiological surveys that reported the prevalence of chronic cough in general adult populations during the years 1980 to 2013. A literature search was performed on Pubmed and Embase without language restriction. Epidemiological definitions for chronic cough were classified according to their components, such as cutoff duration. Meta-analyses were performed for the male-to-female ratio of chronic cough prevalence to explore operational characteristics of epidemiological definitions. Results A total of 70 studies were included in the systematic review. The most common epidemiological definition was identified as 'cough ≥3 months' duration without specification of phlegm (n=50); however, it conflicted with the cutoff duration in current clinical guidelines (cough ≥8 weeks). Meta-analyses were performed for the male-to-female ratio of chronic cough among 28 studies that reported sex-specific prevalence using the most common definition. The pooled male-to-female odds ratio was 1.26 (95% confidence interval 0.92-1.73) with significant heterogeneity (I2=96%, P<0.001), which was in contrast to clinical observations of female predominance from specialist clinics. Subgroup analyses did not reverse the ratio or reduce the heterogeneity. Conclusions This study identified major issues in defining chronic cough in future epidemiological studies. The conflict between epidemiological and clinical diagnostic criteria needs to be resolved. The unexpected difference in the gender predominance between the community and clinics warrants further studies. Clinical validation of the existing definition is required. PMID:26739408

The impact of cutting alcohol duties on drinking patterns in Hong Kong.

PubMed

Chung, Vincent C H; Yip, Benjamin H K; Griffiths, Sian M; Yu, Ellen L M; Kim, Jean H; Tam, Wilson W S; Wong, Alvin H C; Chan, Iris W T; Lau, Joseph T F

2013-01-01

In an effort to promote Hong Kong as a global wine hub, the government eliminated duties on wine and beer in 2008. The changes in alcohol consumption patterns are examined. Anonymous, cross-sectional telephone surveys on a random sample of Chinese male and female residents aged 18-70 were carried out in 2011 (n = 4800) and 2012 (n = 1001). These data were compared with those of a 2006 (n = 9896) baseline survey conducted before the excise tax elimination. Prevalence of those ever drinking alcohol significantly increased from the 2006 baseline level of 66.6% to 82.0% in 2011 and to 85.2% in 2012. Of note, 10.2% of ever drinkers within the 2012 sample reported consuming alcohol for the first time in or after 2008. Younger, more educated or more affluent parts of the population are more likely to be ever drinkers. Unexpectedly, prevalence of binge drinking in the population decreased slightly from the 2006 baseline of 9.0% to 7.1% in 2011 and to 7.3% in 2012. Quantity of alcohol reportedly consumed by individuals did not change, while alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence levels decreased. However, binge drinking prevalence among the unemployed has increased. Logistic regression showed that those with lower educational achievement and the unemployed have higher likelihood of binge drinking. The government appears to have achieved its objective of making Hong Kong a world center for alcohol trade. However, the resulting access locally to cheaper alcohol has been associated with an increase in the numbers of those drinking alcohol. There has been a trend toward more adults drinking alcohol and greater risk of harm to some disadvantaged groups.

Plasmodium falciparum in the southeastern Atlantic forest: a challenge to the bromeliad-malaria paradigm?

PubMed

Laporta, Gabriel Zorello; Burattini, Marcelo Nascimento; Levy, Debora; Fukuya, Linah Akemi; de Oliveira, Tatiane Marques Porangaba; Maselli, Luciana Morganti Ferreira; Conn, Jan Evelyn; Massad, Eduardo; Bydlowski, Sergio Paulo; Sallum, Maria Anice Mureb

2015-04-25

Recently an unexpectedly high prevalence of Plasmodium falciparum was found in asymptomatic blood donors living in the southeastern Brazilian Atlantic forest. The bromeliad-malaria paradigm assumes that transmission of Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium malariae involves species of the subgenus Kerteszia of Anopheles and only a few cases of P. vivax malaria are reported annually in this region. The expectations of this paradigm are a low prevalence of P. vivax and a null prevalence of P. falciparum. Therefore, the aim of this study was to verify if P. falciparum is actively circulating in the southeastern Brazilian Atlantic forest remains. In this study, anophelines were collected with Shannon and CDC-light traps in seven distinct Atlantic forest landscapes over a 4-month period. Field-collected Anopheles mosquitoes were tested by real-time PCR assay in pools of ten, and then each mosquito from every positive pool, separately for P. falciparum and P. vivax. Genomic DNA of P. falciparum or P. vivax from positive anophelines was then amplified by traditional PCR for sequencing of the 18S ribosomal DNA to confirm Plasmodium species. Binomial probabilities were calculated to identify non-random results of the P. falciparum-infected anopheline findings. The overall proportion of anophelines naturally infected with P. falciparum was 4.4% (21/480) and only 0.8% (4/480) with P. vivax. All of the infected mosquitoes were found in intermixed natural and human-modified environments and most were Anopheles cruzii (22/25 = 88%, 18 P. falciparum plus 4 P. vivax). Plasmodium falciparum was confirmed by sequencing in 76% (16/21) of positive mosquitoes, whereas P. vivax was confirmed in only 25% (1/4). Binomial probabilities suggest that P. falciparum actively circulates throughout the region and that there may be a threshold of the forested over human-modified environment ratio upon which the proportion of P. falciparum-infected anophelines increases significantly. These results show that P. falciparum actively circulates, in higher proportion than P. vivax, among Anopheles mosquitoes of fragments of the southeastern Brazilian Atlantic forest. This finding challenges the classical bromeliad-malaria paradigm, which considers P. vivax circulation as the driver for the dynamics of residual malaria transmission in this region.

A brittle star-like robot capable of immediately adapting to unexpected physical damage.

PubMed

Kano, Takeshi; Sato, Eiki; Ono, Tatsuya; Aonuma, Hitoshi; Matsuzaka, Yoshiya; Ishiguro, Akio

2017-12-01

A major challenge in robotic design is enabling robots to immediately adapt to unexpected physical damage. However, conventional robots require considerable time (more than several tens of seconds) for adaptation because the process entails high computational costs. To overcome this problem, we focus on a brittle star-a primitive creature with expendable body parts. Brittle stars, most of which have five flexible arms, occasionally lose some of them and promptly coordinate the remaining arms to escape from predators. We adopted a synthetic approach to elucidate the essential mechanism underlying this resilient locomotion. Specifically, based on behavioural experiments involving brittle stars whose arms were amputated in various ways, we inferred the decentralized control mechanism that self-coordinates the arm motions by constructing a simple mathematical model. We implemented this mechanism in a brittle star-like robot and demonstrated that it adapts to unexpected physical damage within a few seconds by automatically coordinating its undamaged arms similar to brittle stars. Through the above-mentioned process, we found that physical interaction between arms plays an essential role for the resilient inter-arm coordination of brittle stars. This finding will help develop resilient robots that can work in inhospitable environments. Further, it provides insights into the essential mechanism of resilient coordinated motions characteristic of animal locomotion.

Effects of pushing height on trunk posture and trunk muscle activity when a cart suddenly starts or stops moving.

PubMed

Lee, Yun-Ju; Hoozemans, Marco J M; van Dieën, Jaap H

2012-01-01

Unexpected sudden (un)loading of the trunk may induce inadequate responses of trunk muscles and uncontrolled trunk motion. These unexpected perturbations may occur in pushing tasks, when the cart suddenly starts moving (unloading) or is blocked by an obstacle (loading). In pushing, handle height affects the user's working posture, which may influence trunk muscle activity and trunk movement in response to the perturbation. Eleven healthy male subjects pushed a 200 kg cart with handles at shoulder and hip height in a start condition (sudden release of brakes) and a stop condition (bumping into an obstacle). Before the perturbation, the baseline of the trunk inclination, internal moment and trunk extensor muscle activity were significantly higher when pushing at hip height than at shoulder height. After the perturbation, the changes in trunk inclination and internal moment were significantly larger when pushing at shoulder height than at hip height in both conditions. The opposite directions of changes in trunk inclination and internal moment suggest that the unexpected perturbations caused uncontrolled trunk motion. Pushing at shoulder height may impose a high risk of low-back injury due to the low trunk stiffness and large involuntary trunk motion occurring after carts suddenly move or stop.

Procedure and information displays in advanced nuclear control rooms: experimental evaluation of an integrated design.

PubMed

Chen, Yue; Gao, Qin; Song, Fei; Li, Zhizhong; Wang, Yufan

2017-08-01

In the main control rooms of nuclear power plants, operators frequently have to switch between procedure displays and system information displays. In this study, we proposed an operation-unit-based integrated design, which combines the two displays to facilitate the synthesis of information. We grouped actions that complete a single goal into operation units and showed these operation units on the displays of system states. In addition, we used different levels of visual salience to highlight the current unit and provided a list of execution history records. A laboratory experiment, with 42 students performing a simulated procedure to deal with unexpected high pressuriser level, was conducted to compare this design against an action-based integrated design and the existing separated-displays design. The results indicate that our operation-unit-based integrated design yields the best performance in terms of time and completion rate and helped more participants to detect unexpected system failures. Practitioner Summary: In current nuclear control rooms, operators frequently have to switch between procedure and system information displays. We developed an integrated design that incorporates procedure information into system displays. A laboratory study showed that the proposed design significantly improved participants' performance and increased the probability of detecting unexpected system failures.

A brittle star-like robot capable of immediately adapting to unexpected physical damage

PubMed Central

Sato, Eiki; Ono, Tatsuya; Aonuma, Hitoshi; Matsuzaka, Yoshiya; Ishiguro, Akio

2017-01-01

A major challenge in robotic design is enabling robots to immediately adapt to unexpected physical damage. However, conventional robots require considerable time (more than several tens of seconds) for adaptation because the process entails high computational costs. To overcome this problem, we focus on a brittle star—a primitive creature with expendable body parts. Brittle stars, most of which have five flexible arms, occasionally lose some of them and promptly coordinate the remaining arms to escape from predators. We adopted a synthetic approach to elucidate the essential mechanism underlying this resilient locomotion. Specifically, based on behavioural experiments involving brittle stars whose arms were amputated in various ways, we inferred the decentralized control mechanism that self-coordinates the arm motions by constructing a simple mathematical model. We implemented this mechanism in a brittle star-like robot and demonstrated that it adapts to unexpected physical damage within a few seconds by automatically coordinating its undamaged arms similar to brittle stars. Through the above-mentioned process, we found that physical interaction between arms plays an essential role for the resilient inter-arm coordination of brittle stars. This finding will help develop resilient robots that can work in inhospitable environments. Further, it provides insights into the essential mechanism of resilient coordinated motions characteristic of animal locomotion. PMID:29308250

Dark Adaptation at High Altitude: An Unexpected Pupillary Response to Chronic Hypoxia in Andean Highlanders.

PubMed

Healy, Katherine; Labrique, Alain B; Miranda, J Jaime; Gilman, Robert H; Danz, David; Davila-Roman, Victor G; Huicho, Luis; León-Velarde, Fabiola; Checkley, William

2016-09-01

Healy, Katherine, Alain B. Labrique, J. Jaime Miranda, Robert H. Gilman, David Danz, Victor G. Davila-Roman, Luis Huicho, Fabiola León-Velarde, and William Checkley. Dark adaptation at high altitude: an unexpected pupillary response to chronic hypoxia in Andean highlanders. High Alt Med Biol. 17:208-213, 2016.-Chronic mountain sickness is a maladaptive response to high altitude (>2500 m above sea level) and is characterized by excessive erythrocytosis and hypoxemia resulting from long-term hypobaric hypoxia. There is no known early predictor of chronic mountain sickness and the diagnosis is based on the presence of excessive erythrocytosis and clinical features. Impaired dark adaptation, or an inability to visually adjust from high- to low-light settings, occurs in response to mild hypoxia and may serve as an early predictor of hypoxemia and chronic mountain sickness. We aimed to evaluate the association between pupillary response assessed by dark adaptometry and daytime hypoxemia in resident Andean highlanders aged ≥35 years living in Puno, Peru. Oxyhemoglobin saturation (SpO 2 ) was recorded using a handheld pulse oximeter. Dark adaptation was quantitatively assessed as the magnitude of pupillary contraction to light stimuli of varying intensities (-2.9 to 0.1 log-cd/m 2 ) using a portable dark adaptometer. Individual- and stimulus-specific multilevel analyses were conducted using mixed-effect models to elicit the relationship between SpO 2 and pupillary responsiveness. Among 93 participants, mean age was 54.9 ± 11.0 years, 48% were male, 44% were night blind, and mean SpO 2 was 89.3% ± 3.4%. The magnitude of pupillary contraction was greater with lower SpO 2 (p < 0.01), and this dose relationship remained significant in multiple variable analyses (p = 0.047). Pupillary responsiveness to light stimuli under dark-adapted conditions was exaggerated with hypoxemia and may serve as an early predictor of chronic mountain sickness. This unexpected association is potentially explained as an excessive and unregulated sympathetic response to hypoxemia at altitude.

The Burden of Loss: Unexpected death of a loved one and psychiatric disorders across the life course in a national study

PubMed Central

Keyes, Katherine M.; Pratt, Charissa; Galea, Sandro; McLaughlin, Katie A.; Koenen, Karestan C.; Shear, M. Katherine

2014-01-01

Background Unexpected death of a loved one is common and associated with subsequent elevations in symptoms of multiple forms of psychopathology. Determining whether this experience predicts novel onset of psychiatric disorders and whether these associations vary across the life course has important clinical implications. Aims To examine associations of a loved one’s unexpected death with first onset of common anxiety, mood, and substance disorders in a population-based sample. Methods Relation between unexpected death and first onset of lifetime DSM-IV disorders estimated using a structured interview of adults in the US general population (analytic sample size=27,534). Models controlled for prior occurrence of any disorder, other traumatic event experiences, and demographics. Results Unexpected death was the most common traumatic experience and most likely to be rated as the respondent’s worst, regardless of other traumatic experiences. Increased incidence after unexpected death was observed at every point across the life course for major depressive episodes, panic disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Increased incidence was clustered in later adult age groups for manic episodes, phobias, alcohol disorders, and generalized anxiety disorder. Conclusions The bereavement period is associated with elevated risk for the onset of multiple psychiatric disorders, consistently across the life course and coincident with the experience of the loved one’s death. Novel associations between unexpected death and onset of several disorders, including mania, confirm multiple case reports and small studies, and suggest an important emerging area for clinical research and practice. PMID:24832609

Cross-sectional study of the prevalence of and risk factors for hoof disorders in horses in The Netherlands.

PubMed

Holzhauer, M; Bremer, R; Santman-Berends, I; Smink, O; Janssens, I; Back, W

2017-05-01

Information is scarce on the prevalence of hoof disorders in horses. In this study, we examined the prevalence of and risk factors for hoof disorders in a population of horses in The Netherlands. In a group of 942 randomly selected horses, hoof health was scored during regular foot trimming (one horse/farm). Hooves were assessed for the occurrence of one of 12 hoof disorders by a group of 21 certified farriers in two periods i.e. winter and summer of 2015. The mean age of the group of horses was 11.2±5.6years. They were mainly used for recreation (28.2%), dressage (26.8%), other disciplines (such as carriage driving and breeding) (18.7%), showjumping (17.6%) or combinations of these activities (8.6%). The horse farms studied were evenly distributed throughout the country. The horses were housed on different types of bedding, including straw (51.0%), shavings (17.5%), flax (16.1%) or other materials (11.0%), or were kept at pasture (4.4%). In 85% of the horses, at least one hoof disorder was observed during regular foot trimming. Most of the lesions were mild. The most frequently diagnosed hoof disorders were: thrush (T; 45.0%); superficial hoof wall cracks (SHWC; 30.4%); growth rings (GR; 26.3%); and sole bruises (SB; 24.7%). Less frequently observed hoof disorders included: perforating hoof wall cracks (PHWC; 16.4%); white line disease (WLD; 17.8%); and white line widening (WLW; 11.8%). Horizontal hoof cracks (5.2%), chronic laminitis (3.9%), quarter cracks (2.7%), keratoma (1.8%) and frog cancer (1.0%) were less frequently observed. Factors significantly associated with the occurrence of thrush comprised a wet stable floor (OR 1.6 and 2.9, for somewhat wet to wet respectively, compared to dry), the use of straw as bedding (OR=1.5, compared to flax), the housing strategy (e.g. permanent housing in contrast to permanent pasturing) (OR=1.7) and poor horn quality (OR=3.4). A higher prevalence of WLD was associated with less frequent hoof picking (OR=2.1 if performed weekly instead of daily), the use of flax bedding (OR=2.1, compared to straw) and poor horn quality (OR=8.1). A higher prevalence of SB was observed in horses used for multiple disciplines (OR=3.5, compared to dressage), with white-coloured hooves (OR=5.0, compared to black hooves), with longer intervals between trimming sessions (OR=4.8 in case of 8-10 weeks compared to weekly) and with poor horn quality (OR=5.4). A higher prevalence of WLW was observed in older horses (OR=15.5 for horses >19years, compared to <5years), in those with longer intervals between trimming sessions (OR=1.8 in case of 8-10 weeks compared to weekly), and in certain breeds (OR=3.2 for Friesian horses, 2.9 for Welsh ponies and 13.1 for Shetland ponies, all compared to Dutch Warmblood). In conclusion, although most of the hoof disorders identified were only in a mild stage, still an unexpectedly high prevalence of hoof disorders was observed during regular hoof trimming. Analysis of the data showed that some parameters, such as the use of flax bedding, may be protective for certain hoof disorders but a risk factor for others. This study provides useful guidelines for monitoring hoof health, reducing lameness and optimizing equine welfare. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Unexpected thermal destruction of dried, glass bead-immobilized microorganisms as a function of water activity.

PubMed

Laroche, C; Gervais, P

2003-05-01

To help us understand the factors and mechanisms implicated in the death of microorganisms or their resistance to temperature in a low water activity environment, microorganisms were dried on the surface of glass beads before being subjected to high temperatures for a short period followed by rapid cooling. Two microorganisms were studied: the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and the bacterium Lactobacillus plantarum. Experiments were carried out at 150, 200, and 250 degrees C, with four durations of heat treatment and seven levels of initial water activity between 0.10 and 0.70. We observed an unexpected range of water activity, between 0.30 and 0.50, at which microorganisms were more resistant to the various treatments, with maximal viability at 0.35 for L. plantarum and 0.40 for S. cerevisiae.

Investigation of solid nitrogen for cryogenic thermal storage in superconducting cable terminations for enhanced resiliency

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suttell, N.; Zhang, Z.; Kweon, J.; Nes, T.; Kim, C. H.; Pamidi, S.; Ordonez, J. C.

2017-12-01

Low heat capacity of helium makes the helium gas cooled high temperature superconducting (HTS) power devices susceptible to large temperature rises during unexpected heat loads such as electrical faults or cryogenic system failures. Cryogenic thermal storage in the form of solid nitrogen designed in the terminations is explored as a means to increase the thermal stability and operational time of HTS power cables in the event of unexpected heat loads. An external tank containing activated charcoal is used as an adsorption buffer tank for nitrogen gas. The use of activated charcoal minimizes the volume of the buffer tank and prevents pressure rises during melting and boiling of the solid nitrogen. Calculations of the cryogenic thermal storage needed and a description of the experimental setup used to understand the design constraints are discussed.

Subclinical hyperthyroidism and sudden unexpected death in epilepsy.

PubMed

Scorza, Fulvio A; Arida, Ricardo M; Cysneiros, Roberta M; Terra, Vera C; de Albuquerque, Marly; Machado, Hélio R; Cavalheiro, Esper A

2010-04-01

Epilepsy is the most common serious neurological condition and sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) is the most important direct epilepsy-related cause of death. Information concerning risk factors for SUDEP is conflicting, but high seizure frequency is a potential risk factor. Additionally, potential pathomechanisms for SUDEP are unknown, but it is very probable that cardiac arrhythmias during and between seizures or transmission of epileptic activity to the heart via the autonomic nervous system potentially play a role. In parallel, several studies have shown a link between hormones and epilepsy. However, exact knowledge regarding the association of thyroid hormones and epilepsy is lacking. As subclinical hyperthyroidism has been linked with increased risk of cardiovascular disease, we propose in this paper that SUDEP, at least in some cases, could be related with subclinical thyroid dysfunction. (c) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Prevalence of hepatitis B virus infection among Iranian high risk groups: a systematic review and meta-analysis

PubMed Central

Almasi-Hashiani, Amir; Ayubi, Erfan; Mansori, Kamyar; Salehi-Vaziri, Mostafa; Moradi, Yousef; Gholamaliei, Behzad; Khazaei, Salman

2018-01-01

Aim: Present study aimed to systematically review and quantitatively synthesize published data about the prevalence of Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) infection among high risk groups in Iran. Background: Determining true burden of Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) infection among high-risk groups relies on knowledge of occurrence measures such as prevalence rate. There is no conclusive and comprehensive data regarding to prevalence of HBV infection among high risk groups in Iran. Methods: Relevant studies were searched in PubMed, Scopus, Web of Knowledge and local databases. In addition, reference lists of relevant studies were searched manually. Two independent authors reviewed the eligibility of retrieved studies and extracted the required data. Studies reporting HBV infection among high risk groups were included in the meta-analysis using random effects models. Meta regression and sub-group analysis were considered as additional analyses. Results: The initial search yielded 566 citations. After the primary screen, 37 studies were selected for review. Meta-analysis results showed that pooled prevalence of HBV infection among high risk groups in Iran was 4.8% (95% confidence interval: 3.6%-6.1%), with the highest prevalence among in prisoners (5%; 3%-6%), and in central regions of Iran (7%; 4%-11%). Year of study may affect the observed heterogeneity in the estimated prevalence of HBV infection among injection drug users (IDUs) and prisoners. Conclusion: Our results indicate that prevalence of HBV infection among high risk groups was seemingly high in Iran. Health policy decision makers should be aware of prevalence of HBV infection among different high risk groups and in different regions of Iran.

Prevalence of and factors associated with musculoskeletal symptoms in the spine attributed to computer use in undergraduate students.

PubMed

Kanchanomai, Siriluck; Janwantanakul, Prawit; Pensri, Praneet; Jiamjarasrangsi, Wiroj

2012-01-01

This study aimed to investigate the 3-month prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms at the spine attributed to computer use and to identify biopsychosocial factors associated with the prevalence in undergraduate students. Undergraduate students who studied at a public university in Thailand. A cross-sectional survey was conducted with a self-administered questionnaire delivered to 3,545 students. A total of 2,511 students (73.7%) returned the questionnaires. Cervical symptoms (22.3%) were the most frequently reported, followed by thoracic (11%) and lumbar symptoms (10.7%). Females, daily computer use greater than three hours and too-high keyboard's position were significantly associated with a high prevalence of cervical symptoms. A significant association was found between higher undergraduate year of the study and too-high keyboard's position and a high prevalence of thoracic symptoms. Higher undergraduate year of the study and daily computer use greater than three hours were significantly related to a high prevalence of lumbar symptoms. Better-than-normal mental health status was associated with a low prevalence of lumbar symptoms. Spinal symptoms are common among undergraduate students. Various factors were identified to be associated with high prevalence of spinal symptoms. Further research investigating the causal relation between these factors and musculoskeletal symptoms should be conducted.

Very high-pressure orogenic garnet peridotites

PubMed Central

Liou, J. G.; Zhang, R. Y.; Ernst, W. G.

2007-01-01

Mantle-derived garnet peridotites are a minor component in many very high-pressure metamorphic terranes that formed during continental subduction and collision. Some of these mantle rocks contain trace amounts of zircon and micrometer-sized inclusions. The constituent minerals exhibit pre- and postsubduction microstructures, including polymorphic transformation and mineral exsolution. Experimental, mineralogical, petrochemical, and geochronological characterizations using novel techniques with high spatial, temporal, and energy resolutions are resulting in unexpected discoveries of new phases, providing better constraints on deep mantle processes. PMID:17519341

Prevalence of precore-defective mutant of hepatitis B virus in HBV carriers.

PubMed

Niitsuma, H; Ishii, M; Saito, Y; Miura, M; Kobayashi, K; Ohori, H; Toyota, T

1995-08-01

Two hundred and seventy-three serum specimens from hepatitis B virus (HBV) carriers were examined for the presence of a characteristic one point mutation at nucleotide (nt) 1896 from the EcoRI site of the HBV genome in the precore region (the preC mutant) using restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis. This assay approach could detect preC mutants or wild-type sequences when either form constituted more than 10% of the total sample. Overall, 65.5% (76/116) of HBeAg-positive carriers had only the preC wild-type. All HBeAg-positive asymptomatic carriers (n = 14) had only the preC wild-type. In patients with chronic hepatitis B and in anti-HBe-positive asymptomatic carriers, increased prevalence of the preC mutant was associated with the development of anti-HBe antibodies and normalization of the serum alanine aminotransferase concentration. Furthermore, 27 (29.0%) of 93 HBeAg-negative carriers had unexpectedly preC wild-type sequences only. Direct sequencing of the HBV precore region of HBV specimens from 24 patients revealed no mutation at nt 1896, supporting the specificity of the RFLP analysis. These results suggest that RFLP analysis was accurate for the detection of the preC mutation and that the absence of serum HBeAg cannot be explained solely by the dominance of the preC mutant.

Nutrimetry: BMI assessment as a function of development.

PubMed

Selem-Solís, Jorge Enrique; Alcocer-Gamboa, Alberto; Hattori-Hara, Mónica; Esteve-Lanao, Jonathan; Larumbe-Zabala, Eneko

2018-02-01

Adequate nutritional assessment is required to fight malnutrition (undernutrition and overfeeding) in children and adolescents. For this, joint interpretation of certain indicators (body mass index [BMI], height, weight, etc.) is recommended. This is done clinically, but not epidemiologically. The aim of this paper is to present "nutrimetry", a simple method that crosses anthropometric information allowing for bivariate interpretation at both levels (clinical and epidemiological). Data from 41,001 children and adolescents aged 0-19 years, taken from Mexico's National Health and Nutrition Survey 2012, were analyzed. Data crossed were BMI-for-age z-scores (BAZ) with height-for-age z-scores (HAZ) according to the World Health Organization (WHO) standards. Conditional prevalences were calculated in a 3×3 grid and were compared with expected values. This method identified subgroups in each BAZ category showing heterogeneity of the sample with regard to WHO standards for HAZ and nutritional status. According to the method, nutritional status patterns differed among Mexican states and age and sex groups. Nutrimetry is a helpful and accessible tool to be used in epidemiology. It allows for detecting unexpected distributions of conditional prevalences, its graphical representation facilitates communication of results by geographic areas, and enriched interpretation of BAZ helps guide intervention actions according to their codes. Copyright © 2017 SEEN y SED. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Association between workplace psychosocial factors and mental health in Black, Hispanic, and White women: Cross-sectional findings from the National Health Interview Survey.

PubMed

Mutambudzi, Miriam

2017-01-01

Research evaluating the relation of workplace psychosocial factors to mental health among U.S. women of different racial/ethnic backgrounds is limited. This study investigated the relationship between work-related psychosocial factors and mental health among non-Hispanic Black, Hispanic, and non-Hispanic White women using data from the 2010 National Health Interview Survey. Independent variables of interest included job insecurity, workplace harassment, and work-family conflict (WFC). Multiple Poisson regression models were used to examine the associations between the outcome and independent variables. The prevalence of unfavorable mental health was highest among non-Hispanic Black women (36%) compared to Hispanic (34%) and non-Hispanic White (30%) women. A higher proportion of non-Hispanic Black women reported WFC compared to Hispanics and non-Hispanic Whites (χ 2 = 15.50, p < .01), while more Hispanics reported job insecurity (χ 2 = 116.81, p < .01). Prevalence of workplace harassment did not differ significantly by race/ethnicity. Odds of unfavorable mental health were significantly higher for women reporting psychosocial work factors. Unexpectedly, a greater association between psychosocial work factors and unfavorable mental health was observed among non-Hispanic White women compared to non-White women; however, caution should be taken in interpreting these cross-sectional results. Future studies should investigate temporal associations and additional psychosocial variables that were not available for use in the current study.

Diverticular Disease in the Primary Care Setting.

PubMed

Wensaas, Knut-Arne; Hungin, Amrit Pali

2016-10-01

Diverticular disease is a chronic and common condition, and yet the impact of diverticular disease in primary care is largely unknown. The diagnosis of diverticular disease relies on the demonstration of diverticula in the colon, and the necessary investigations are often not available in primary care. The specificity and sensitivity of symptoms, clinical signs and laboratory tests alone are generally low and consequently the diagnostic process will be characterized by uncertainty. Also, the criteria for symptomatic uncomplicated diverticular disease in the absence of macroscopic inflammation are not clearly defined. Therefore both the prevalence of diverticular disease and the incidence of diverticulitis in primary care are unknown. Current recommendations for treatment and follow-up of patients with acute diverticulitis are based on studies where the diagnosis has been verified by computerized tomography. The results cannot be directly transferred to primary care where the diagnosis has to rely on the interpretation of symptoms and signs. Therefore, one must allow for greater diagnostic uncertainty, and safety netting in the event of unexpected development of the condition is an important aspect of the management of diverticulitis in primary care. The highest prevalence of diverticular disease is found among older patients, where multimorbidity and polypharmacy is common. The challenge is to remember the possible contribution of diverticular disease to the patient's overall condition and to foresee its implications in terms of advice and treatment in relation to other diseases.

Nonactivated titanium-dioxide nanoparticles promote the growth of Chlamydia trachomatis and decrease the antimicrobial activity of silver nanoparticles.

PubMed

Bogdanov, A; Janovák, L; Lantos, I; Endrész, V; Sebők, D; Szabó, T; Dékány, I; Deák, J; Rázga, Z; Burián, K; Virok, D P

2017-11-01

Chlamydia trachomatis and herpes simplex virus (HSV) are the most prevalent bacterial and viral sexually transmitted infections. Due to the chronic nature of their infections, they are able to interact with titanium-dioxide (TiO 2 ) nanoparticles (NPs) applied as food additives or drug delivery vehicles. The aim of this study was to describe the interactions of these two prevalent pathogens with the TiO 2 NPs. Chlamydia trachomatis and HSV-2 were treated with nonactivated TiO 2 NPs, silver NPs and silver decorated TiO 2 NPs before infection of HeLa and Vero cells. Their intracellular growth was monitored by quantitative PCR. Unexpectedly, the TiO 2 NPs (100 μg ml -1 ) increased the growth of C. trachomatis by approximately fourfold, while the HSV-2 replication was not affected. Addition of TiO 2 to silver NPs decreased their antimicrobial activity against C. trachomatis up to 27·92-fold. In summary, nonactivated TiO 2 NPs could increase the replication of C. trachomatis and decrease the antimicrobial activity of silver NPs. The food industry or drug delivery use of TiO 2 NPs could enhance the growth of certain intracellular pathogens and potentially worsen disease symptoms, a feature that should be further investigated. © 2017 The Society for Applied Microbiology.

Managing the Unexpected: Complexity as Distributed Sensemaking

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weick, Karl E.

In 1998 the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) published a statement of their strategy entitled "Preventing Emerging Infectious Diseases: A Strategy for the 21st Century." They described their central challenge this way: "because we do not know what new diseases will arise, we must always be prepared for the unexpected" (p. vii). Soon after they published that statement CDC was confronted with an unexpected emerging disease, the West Nile Virus, which they misdiagnosed initially.

Antenna servo control system characterization: Rate loop analysis for 34-m antenna at DSS 15

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nickerson, J. A.; Cox, D. G.; Smith, H. K.; Engel, J. H.; Ahlstrom, H. G.

1986-01-01

The elevation and azimuth servo rate loops at the 34-m High Efficiency Deep Space Station 15 (DSS 15) are described. Time and frequency response performance criteria were measured. The results are compared to theoretically deduced performance criteria. Unexpected anomalies in the frequency response are observed and identified.

Evolution 2.0. the Unexpected Learning Experience of Making a Digital Archive

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Andersen, Casper; Bek-Thomsen, Jakob; Clasen, Mathias; Grumsen, Stine Slot; Hjermitslev, Hans Henrik; Kjaergaard, Peter C.

2013-01-01

Studies in the history of science and education have documented that the reception and understanding of evolutionary theory is highly contingent on local factors such as school systems, cultural traditions, religious beliefs, and language. This has important implications for teaching evolution in primary and secondary schools. No universal…

Economics: An Analysis of Unintended Consequences. Volume 1: Introduction to Microeconomics.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schenk, Robert E.

This curriculum guide introduces high school students to the basic principles of microeconomics. Chapter 1 provides a basic definition of economics, while chapter 2 introduces a number of important economic concepts and ideas and examines reasons for unintended or unexpected consequences of decision-making. Chapter 3 considers how individual…

The Leaf Electroscope: A Take-Home Project of Unexpected Depth

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stewart, John; Skinner, Stephen; Stewart, Gay

2013-01-01

The leaf electroscope is a common piece of demonstration equipment found in many high school and introductory college physics laboratories. Its simplicity allows a compelling demonstration of electrostatic forces, and its versatility makes it useful in the demonstration of a number of physical phenomena. The electroscope has a long history; a…

Updating Higher Education Expectations and Choices with Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Milla, Joniada

2017-01-01

This paper explores how expectations and post-secondary education (PSE) path disruption decisions are affected by a learning process that students experience once enrolled in a PSE program. An unexpected change in grades, between high school and first year PSE program, serves as an informative signal on how well their academic performance and…

Cultural techniques for altering the flowering time and double-cropping short-day varieties

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

July-plugged transplants of short-day cv. Strawberry Festival (Fragaria x ananassa), flowered in October and November even though they were grown under long photoperiods and warm temperatures (greater than 21 degrees C) in July and August. These unexpected results were attributed to a high plant de...

UNDERSTANDING REGIONAL OXIDATION CAPACITY BY COMPREHENSIVE OBSERVATIONS TO CONSTRAIN HYDROXYL RADICAL SOURCES AND SINKS DURING THE SOUTHERN OXIDANT AEROSOL STUDY (SOAS)

EPA Science Inventory

The proposed field measurements and data analysis will provide an important constraint to understand oxidation capacity in the Southeastern U.S. that determines SOA and photochemical ozone formation. Unexpectedly high levels of OH determining oxidation capacity have been co...

Comparison of various methods to determine bulk specific gravity of cores : an investigation of high values using AASHTO T275 - paraffin-coated method.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2012-07-01

A report from a MoDOT asphalt paving project was that unexpected results were obtained when adhering to the standard for determination of bulk specific gravity of compacted asphalt mixture (Gmb) specimens, AASHTO T 166. The test method requires speci...

Increasing and Decreasing Intrinsic Interest with Contingent Rewards: A Test of Cognitive Evaluation Theory.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Enzle, Michael E.; Ross, June M.

1978-01-01

University students worked puzzles and were given a high or low value cash award, contingent on simple task completion or on attainment of a performance level, or noncontingent and unexpected. Interest in the task after reward was analyzed. Results provided substantial support for Deci's cognitive evaluation theory. (Author/SJL)

Unexpected high digestion rate of cooked starch by the Ct-Maltase-Glucoamylase small intestine mucosal alpha-glucosidase subunit

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

For starch digestion to glucose, two luminal alpha-amylases and four gut mucosal alpha-glucosidase subunits are employed. The aim of this research was to investigate, for the first time, direct digestion capability of individual mucosal alpha-glucosidases on cooked (gelatinized) starch. Gelatinized ...

Local Environmental Groups: A Systematic Enumeration in Two Geographical Areas.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kempton, Willett; Holland, Dorothy C.; Bunting-Howarth, Katherine; Hannan, Erin; Payne, Christopher

2001-01-01

A systematic, labor-intensive inventory of all local environmental groups in the Delmarva Peninsula and the state of North Carolina found 566 local groups, 7-20 times the number in published directories. Unexpectedly, high school student groups made up about 30 percent of the total. Groups' diverse objectives, primary activities, and alliances are…

Space communications scheduler: A rule-based approach to adaptive deadline scheduling

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Straguzzi, Nicholas

1990-01-01

Job scheduling is a deceptively complex subfield of computer science. The highly combinatorial nature of the problem, which is NP-complete in nearly all cases, requires a scheduling program to intelligently transverse an immense search tree to create the best possible schedule in a minimal amount of time. In addition, the program must continually make adjustments to the initial schedule when faced with last-minute user requests, cancellations, unexpected device failures, quests, cancellations, unexpected device failures, etc. A good scheduler must be quick, flexible, and efficient, even at the expense of generating slightly less-than-optimal schedules. The Space Communication Scheduler (SCS) is an intelligent rule-based scheduling system. SCS is an adaptive deadline scheduler which allocates modular communications resources to meet an ordered set of user-specified job requests on board the NASA Space Station. SCS uses pattern matching techniques to detect potential conflicts through algorithmic and heuristic means. As a result, the system generates and maintains high density schedules without relying heavily on backtracking or blind search techniques. SCS is suitable for many common real-world applications.

Rates of abnormalities and infectious agents in cervical smears from female inmates in Texas: comparison with private and university clinic patients.

PubMed

Logrono, R; Wong, J Y

1999-09-01

Inmates are generally considered a high-risk population for gynecologic neoplasia and sexually transmitted diseases. Cervical smears from prisoners of the Texas Department of Corrections (TDC) were expected initially to have higher rates of cellular abnormalities and infectious agents than do smears from the general population. The cytologic findings from 25,522 TDC gynecologic smears were compared with those of 6883 cases from The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) affiliated physician private clinics, and with 56,178 from the UTMB hospital clinics. The period of study was from September 1995 to February 1998. This study revealed a 5.23% higher rate of abnormalities for TDC gynecologic smears as compared with that for the private clinic smears. However, the TDC rate of abnormalities was unexpectedly 1.08% lower than that for the UTMB clinic smears. These unexpected findings were probably the result of a more selected high-risk population referred to the UTMB clinics. The TDC smears showed also the highest incidence of trichomoniasis.

Unexpected case of pneumomediastinum and subcutaneous emphysema: primary or secondary aetiology?

PubMed

Cheng, Amanda J L; Sadler, Timothy J

2018-04-19

A 77-year-old man was admitted with a relapse of antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-positive vasculitis with pulmonary involvement and acute kidney injury. There was a background of pulmonary fibrosis (non-specific interstitial pneumonia type pattern) and superadded pulmonary haemorrhage, acute pulmonary oedema and sepsis. The patient was intubated for 4 days and remained dependent on high flow oxygen and continuous positive airway pressure after extubation. A chest radiograph performed 2 weeks after extubation demonstrated unexpected, extensive pneumomediastinum and subcutaneous emphysema. This was confirmed on CT which raised the possibility of a tracheal defect at the level of the prior endotracheal tube cuff position. Tracheal injury was considered clinically unlikely due to the considerable interval since extubation and a short, uneventful intubation period. The cardiothoracic team recommended a diagnostic bronchoscopy but this was felt too high risk by the clinical team. The cause of pneumomediastinum and subcutaneous emphysema remained indeterminate. © BMJ Publishing Group Ltd (unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Highly mobile oxygen holes in magnesium oxide

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Freund, Minoru M.; Freund, Friedemann; Batllo, Francois

1989-01-01

High-purity MgO exhibits an unexpected giant anomaly of the apparent static dielectric constant and a positive surface charge of the order of 5 x 10 to the 21st/cu cm in the top 15 nm. It is postulated that the MgO matrix contains traces of peroxy defects, O2(2-), associated with Mg(2+) vacancies. Above approximately 400 C the O2(2-) dissociates to vacancy bound O(-) and highly mobile O(-) states, which diffuse to the surface, giving rise to a high surface conductivity.

Target-present guessing as a function of target prevalence and accumulated information in visual search.

PubMed

Peltier, Chad; Becker, Mark W

2017-05-01

Target prevalence influences visual search behavior. At low target prevalence, miss rates are high and false alarms are low, while the opposite is true at high prevalence. Several models of search aim to describe search behavior, one of which has been specifically intended to model search at varying prevalence levels. The multiple decision model (Wolfe & Van Wert, Current Biology, 20(2), 121--124, 2010) posits that all searches that end before the observer detects a target result in a target-absent response. However, researchers have found very high false alarms in high-prevalence searches, suggesting that prevalence rates may be used as a source of information to make "educated guesses" after search termination. Here, we further examine the ability for prevalence level and knowledge gained during visual search to influence guessing rates. We manipulate target prevalence and the amount of information that an observer accumulates about a search display prior to making a response to test if these sources of evidence are used to inform target present guess rates. We find that observers use both information about target prevalence rates and information about the proportion of the array inspected prior to making a response allowing them to make an informed and statistically driven guess about the target's presence.

Morphological Characteristics of Particulate Material Formed from High Velocity Impact of Depleted Uranium Projectiles with Armor Targets

DTIC Science & Technology

1978-11-01

Magnification Showing Aggregation of Ultrafine Particles ; Gap Between Bars Represents 0.5 pm. .......... ... 15 iv LIST OF FIGURES (CONCLUDED) Figure Title...subsequent forma- tion of smaller particulates. An unexpected phenomenon was the formation of ultrafine particles less than 0.1 pm in diameter. These...and the highly reactive nature of pyrophoric depleted uranium. Ti ese ultrafine particles exhibited an extreme tendency to coalesce, probably due to

Method of treating intermetallic alloy hydrogenation/oxidation catalysts for improved impurity poisoning resistance, regeneration and increased activity

DOEpatents

Wright, R.B.

1992-01-14

Alternate, successive high temperature oxidation and reduction treatments, in either order, of intermetallic alloy hydrogenation and intermetallic alloy oxidation catalysts unexpectedly improves the impurity poisoning resistance, regeneration capacity and/or activity of the catalysts. The particular alloy, and the final high temperature treatment given alloy (oxidation or reduction) will be chosen to correspond to the function of the catalyst (oxidation or hydrogenation). 23 figs.

Evaluation of the DAVROS (Development And Validation of Risk-adjusted Outcomes for Systems of emergency care) risk-adjustment model as a quality indicator for healthcare

PubMed Central

Wilson, Richard; Goodacre, Steve W; Klingbajl, Marcin; Kelly, Anne-Maree; Rainer, Tim; Coats, Tim; Holloway, Vikki; Townend, Will; Crane, Steve

2014-01-01

Background and objective Risk-adjusted mortality rates can be used as a quality indicator if it is assumed that the discrepancy between predicted and actual mortality can be attributed to the quality of healthcare (ie, the model has attributional validity). The Development And Validation of Risk-adjusted Outcomes for Systems of emergency care (DAVROS) model predicts 7-day mortality in emergency medical admissions. We aimed to test this assumption by evaluating the attributional validity of the DAVROS risk-adjustment model. Methods We selected cases that had the greatest discrepancy between observed mortality and predicted probability of mortality from seven hospitals involved in validation of the DAVROS risk-adjustment model. Reviewers at each hospital assessed hospital records to determine whether the discrepancy between predicted and actual mortality could be explained by the healthcare provided. Results We received 232/280 (83%) completed review forms relating to 179 unexpected deaths and 53 unexpected survivors. The healthcare system was judged to have potentially contributed to 10/179 (8%) of the unexpected deaths and 26/53 (49%) of the unexpected survivors. Failure of the model to appropriately predict risk was judged to be responsible for 135/179 (75%) of the unexpected deaths and 2/53 (4%) of the unexpected survivors. Some 10/53 (19%) of the unexpected survivors died within a few months of the 7-day period of model prediction. Conclusions We found little evidence that deaths occurring in patients with a low predicted mortality from risk-adjustment could be attributed to the quality of healthcare provided. PMID:23605036

Differential host mortality explains the effect of high temperature on the prevalence of a marine pathogen

PubMed Central

Neigel, Joseph E.

2017-01-01

Infectious diseases threaten marine populations, and the extent of their impacts is often assessed by prevalence of infection (the proportion of infected individuals). Changes in prevalence are often attributed to altered rates of transmission, although the rates of birth, recovery, and mortality also determine prevalence. The parasitic dinoflagellate Hematodinium perezi causes a severe, often fatal disease in blue crabs. It has been speculated that decreases in prevalence associated with high temperatures result from lower rates of infection. We used field collections, environmental sensor data, and high-temperature exposure experiments to investigate the factors that change prevalence of infections in blue crab megalopae (post-larvae). These megalopae migrate from offshore waters, where temperatures are moderate, to marshes where temperatures may be extremely high. Within a few days of arriving in the marsh, the megalopae metamorphose into juvenile crabs. We found a strong negative association between prevalence of Hematodinium infection in megalopae and the cumulative time water temperatures in the marsh exceeded 34°C over the preceding two days. Temperatures this high are known to be lethal for blue crabs, suggesting that higher mortality of infected megalopae could be the cause of reduced prevalence. Experimental exposure of megalopae from the marsh to a temperature of 34°C resulted in higher mortality for infected than uninfected individuals, and decreased the prevalence of infection among survivors from 18% to 3%. PMID:29084257

77 FR 42947 - Unexpected Urgent Refugee and Migration Needs

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-07-20

... unexpected and urgent refugee and migration needs, including by contributions to international, governmental, and nongovernmental organizations and payment of administrative expenses of the Bureau of Population...

Neurological Disease Rises from Ocean to Bring Model for Human Epilepsy to Life

PubMed Central

Ramsdell, John S.

2010-01-01

Domoic acid of macroalgal origin was used for traditional and medicinal purposes in Japan and largely forgotten until its rediscovery in diatoms that poisoned 107 people after consumption of contaminated mussels. The more severely poisoned victims had seizures and/or amnesia and four died; however, one survivor unexpectedly developed temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) a year after the event. Nearly a decade later, several thousand sea lions have stranded on California beaches with neurological symptoms. Analysis of the animals stranded over an eight year period indicated five clusters of acute neurological poisoning; however, nearly a quarter have stranded individually outside these events with clinical signs of a chronic neurological syndrome similar to TLE. These poisonings are not limited to sea lions, which serve as readily observed sentinels for other marine animals that strand during domoic acid poisoning events, including several species of dolphin and whales. Acute domoic acid poisoning is five-times more prominent in adult female sea lions as a result of the proximity of their year-round breeding grounds to major domoic acid bloom events. The chronic neurological syndrome, on the other hand, is more prevalent in young animals, with many potentially poisoned in utero. The sea lion rookeries of the Channel Islands are at the crossroads of domoic acid producing harmful algal blooms and a huge industrial discharge site for dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDTs). Studies in experimental animals suggest that chronic poisoning observed in immature sea lions may result from a spatial and temporal coincidence of DDTs and domoic acid during early life stages. Emergence of an epilepsy syndrome from the ocean brings a human epilepsy model to life and provides unexpected insights into interaction with legacy contaminants and expression of disease at different life stages. PMID:22069654

Neurological disease rises from ocean to bring model for human epilepsy to life.

PubMed

Ramsdell, John S

2010-07-01

Domoic acid of macroalgal origin was used for traditional and medicinal purposes in Japan and largely forgotten until its rediscovery in diatoms that poisoned 107 people after consumption of contaminated mussels. The more severely poisoned victims had seizures and/or amnesia and four died; however, one survivor unexpectedly developed temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) a year after the event. Nearly a decade later, several thousand sea lions have stranded on California beaches with neurological symptoms. Analysis of the animals stranded over an eight year period indicated five clusters of acute neurological poisoning; however, nearly a quarter have stranded individually outside these events with clinical signs of a chronic neurological syndrome similar to TLE. These poisonings are not limited to sea lions, which serve as readily observed sentinels for other marine animals that strand during domoic acid poisoning events, including several species of dolphin and whales. Acute domoic acid poisoning is five-times more prominent in adult female sea lions as a result of the proximity of their year-round breeding grounds to major domoic acid bloom events. The chronic neurological syndrome, on the other hand, is more prevalent in young animals, with many potentially poisoned in utero. The sea lion rookeries of the Channel Islands are at the crossroads of domoic acid producing harmful algal blooms and a huge industrial discharge site for dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDTs). Studies in experimental animals suggest that chronic poisoning observed in immature sea lions may result from a spatial and temporal coincidence of DDTs and domoic acid during early life stages. Emergence of an epilepsy syndrome from the ocean brings a human epilepsy model to life and provides unexpected insights into interaction with legacy contaminants and expression of disease at different life stages.

Does semantic preactivation reduce inattentional blindness?

PubMed

Kreitz, Carina; Schnuerch, Robert; Furley, Philip A; Gibbons, Henning; Memmert, Daniel

2015-04-01

We are susceptible to failures of awareness if a stimulus occurs unexpectedly and our attention is focused elsewhere. Such inattentional blindness is modulated by various parameters, including stimulus attributes, the observer's cognitive resources, and the observer's attentional set regarding the primary task. In three behavioral experiments with a total of 360 participants, we investigated whether mere semantic preactivation of the color of an unexpected object can reduce inattentional blindness. Neither explicitly mentioning the color several times before the occurrence of the unexpected stimulus nor priming the color more implicitly via color-related concepts could significantly reduce the susceptibility to inattentional blindness. Even putting the specific color concept in the main focus of the primary task did not lead to reduced inattentional blindness. Thus, we have shown that the failure to consciously perceive unexpected objects was not moderated by semantic preactivation of the objects' most prominent feature: its color. We suggest that this finding reflects the rather general principle that preactivations that are not motivationally relevant for one's current selection goals do not suffice to make an unexpected object overcome the threshold of awareness.

Trends in under-5 mortality rates and the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

PubMed Central

Adetunji, J.

2000-01-01

INTRODUCTION: The prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) among adults and mortality rates among under-5-year-olds have increased or stagnated in many countries. The objective of this study was to investigate whether there is a link between under-5 mortality trends and the prevalence of HIV among adults and, if so, to assess the magnitude of the effect of adult HIV prevalence on under-5 mortality rates. METHOD: Data from Demographic and Health Surveys were used to establish the trends in under-5 mortality rates for 25 countries for which there are data for at least two points in time. Countries were ranked according to the most recent adult HIV prevalence data and grouped in three categories: those with very high HIV prevalence (> or = 5%); those with moderately high prevalence (1-4.9%); and those with low prevalence (< 1%). A mathematical model was fitted to obtain an estimate of the contribution of HIV/AIDS to the level of under-5 mortality in each country. RESULTS: Under-5 mortality rates showed an increase in most countries with high adult HIV prevalence, but a decrease in almost every country with moderately high or low prevalence. The estimated contribution of adult HIV prevalence to the observed level of under-5 mortality was highest (up to 61%) in Zimbabwe (where HIV prevalence was highest) and tended to decrease with the level of HIV prevalence. DISCUSSION: The contribution of HIV/AIDS to childhood mortality therefore appears to be most noticeable in settings where the epidemic is most severe. PMID:11100615

An Unexpected Case of Lyme Disease in a Soldier Serving in Northern Iraq

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-05-01

Christopher E. Curtis, MC USAt 188143 ABSTRACT Lyme disease is a tick-transmitted disease caused by the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi. Cases have been...MILITARY MEDICINE, 175,5:367,2010 An Unexpected Case of Lyme Disease in a Soldier Serving in Northern Iraq CPT Jeremy B. Fisher, SP USA *; CPT...Turkey.3-S We report an unexpected case of Lyme disease from Iraq. CASE REPORT A 28-year-old active duty Army male, on a deployment to northern Iraq

Light-controlled inhibition of malignant glioma by opsin gene transfer

PubMed Central

Yang, F; Tu, J; Pan, J-Q; Luo, H-L; Liu, Y-H; Wan, J; Zhang, J; Wei, P-F; Jiang, T; Chen, Y-H; Wang, L-P

2013-01-01

Glioblastomas are aggressive cancers with low survival rates and poor prognosis because of their highly proliferative and invasive capacity. In the current study, we describe a new optogenetic strategy that selectively inhibits glioma cells through light-controlled membrane depolarization and cell death. Transfer of the engineered opsin ChETA (engineered Channelrhodopsin-2 variant) gene into primary human glioma cells or cell lines, but not normal astrocytes, unexpectedly decreased cell proliferation and increased mitochondria-dependent apoptosis, upon light stimulation. These optogenetic effects were mediated by membrane depolarization-induced reductions in cyclin expression and mitochondrial transmembrane potential. Importantly, the ChETA gene transfer and light illumination in mice significantly inhibited subcutaneous and intracranial glioma growth and increased the survival of the animals bearing the glioma. These results uncover an unexpected effect of opsin ion channels on glioma cells and offer the opportunity for the first time to treat glioma using a light-controllable optogenetic approach. PMID:24176851

Light-controlled inhibition of malignant glioma by opsin gene transfer.

PubMed

Yang, F; Tu, J; Pan, J-Q; Luo, H-L; Liu, Y-H; Wan, J; Zhang, J; Wei, P-F; Jiang, T; Chen, Y-H; Wang, L-P

2013-10-31

Glioblastomas are aggressive cancers with low survival rates and poor prognosis because of their highly proliferative and invasive capacity. In the current study, we describe a new optogenetic strategy that selectively inhibits glioma cells through light-controlled membrane depolarization and cell death. Transfer of the engineered opsin ChETA (engineered Channelrhodopsin-2 variant) gene into primary human glioma cells or cell lines, but not normal astrocytes, unexpectedly decreased cell proliferation and increased mitochondria-dependent apoptosis, upon light stimulation. These optogenetic effects were mediated by membrane depolarization-induced reductions in cyclin expression and mitochondrial transmembrane potential. Importantly, the ChETA gene transfer and light illumination in mice significantly inhibited subcutaneous and intracranial glioma growth and increased the survival of the animals bearing the glioma. These results uncover an unexpected effect of opsin ion channels on glioma cells and offer the opportunity for the first time to treat glioma using a light-controllable optogenetic approach.

Sudden death in Lesch-Nyhan disease.

PubMed

Neychev, Vladimir Kostadinov; Jinnah, H A

2006-11-01

To increase awareness of sudden and unexpected death in Lesch-Nyhan disease (LND) and to explore its potential causes, we report the anteceding clinical features and laboratory evaluations of five males with LND who ultimately experienced sudden and unexpected death, along with three additional males who suffered serious respiratory events during life. The ages of patients ranged from 2 to 45 years. The cause of sudden death in LND appears to have a respiratory rather than a cardiogenic basis. All cases cannot be linked readily with a single respiratory process. Instead, different respiratory processes appear to operate in different cases. These may include aspiration, laryngospasm, central apnea, cyanotic breath-holding spells, and high cervical spine damage. Better recognition of these processes will help to guide appropriate workup and management that could include chest imaging, endoscopy of the airways, polysomnography, electroencephalogram, and brain and/or spine imaging.

The Unexpected Awakening of Chaitén Volcano, Chile

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carn, Simon A.; Pallister, John S.; Lara, Luis; Ewert, John W.; Watt, Sebastian; Prata, Alfred J.; Thomas, Ronald J.; Villarosa, Gustavo

2009-06-01

On 2 May 2008, a large eruption began unexpectedly at the inconspicuous Chaitén volcano in Chile's southern volcanic zone. Ash columns abruptly jetted from the volcano into the stratosphere, followed by lava dome effusion and continuous low-altitude ash plumes [Lara, 2009]. Apocalyptic photographs of eruption plumes suffused with lightning were circulated globally. Effects of the eruption were extensive. Floods and lahars inundated the town of Chaitén, and its 4625 residents were evacuated. Widespread ashfall and drifting ash clouds closed regional airports and cancelled hundreds of domestic flights in Argentina and Chile and numerous international flights [Guffanti et al., 2008]. Ash heavily affected the aquaculture industry in the nearby Gulf of Corcovado, curtailed ecotourism, and closed regional nature preserves. To better prepare for future eruptions, the Chilean government has boosted support for monitoring and hazard mitigation at Chaitén and at 42 other highly hazardous, active volcanoes in Chile.

The Unexpected Awakening of Chaitén Volcano, Chile

USGS Publications Warehouse

Carn, Simon A.; Zogorski, John S.; Lara, Luis; Ewert, John W.; Watt, Sebastian; Prata, Alfred J.; Thomas, Ronald J.; Villarosa, Gustavo

2009-01-01

On 2 May 2008, a large eruption began unexpectedly at the inconspicuous Chaitén volcano in Chile's southern volcanic zone. Ash columns abruptly jetted from the volcano into the stratosphere, followed by lava dome effusion and continuous low-altitude ash plumes [Lara, 2009]. Apocalyptic photographs of eruption plumes suffused with lightning were circulated globally. Effects of the eruption were extensive. Floods and lahars inundated the town of Chaitén, and its 4625 residents were evacuated. Widespread ashfall and drifting ash clouds closed regional airports and cancelled hundreds of domestic flights in Argentina and Chile and numerous international flights [Guffanti et al., 2008]. Ash heavily affected the aquaculture industry in the nearby Gulf of Corcovado, curtailed ecotourism, and closed regional nature preserves. To better prepare for future eruptions, the Chilean government has boosted support for monitoring and hazard mitigation at Chaitén and at 42 other highly hazardous, active volcanoes in Chile.

Unexpected pulmonary hypertensive crisis after surgery for ocular malignant melanoma.

PubMed

Sato, Kaori; Saji, Tsutomu; Kaneko, Taku; Takahashi, Kei; Sugi, Kaoru

2014-11-24

To report a case of unexpected pulmonary hypertensive crisis caused by endothelin release from melanoma cells after surgery for choroidal melanoma. A 56-year-old man suddenly developed dyspnea after resection of choroidal melanoma. Worsening hypoxia required intensive treatment, including percutaneous cardiopulmonary support, after which a series of tests were immediately performed. The tentative diagnosis was idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension. Previous studies noted a significant association between melanoma and endothelin (ET)-1. We hypothesized that a substantial amount of ET-1 had been released from malignant melanoma cells during resection, thus triggering the pulmonary hypertensive crisis in our patient. The patient fully recovered after intensive treatment and administration of the endothelin receptor antagonist bosentan. The success of bosentan treatment, along with the extremely high level of ET-1 on pathologic analysis, confirmed our hypothesis regarding the increase in plasma ET-1 level. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Microbial ecology in the age of genomics and metagenomics: concepts, tools, and recent advances.

PubMed

Xu, Jianping

2006-06-01

Microbial ecology examines the diversity and activity of micro-organisms in Earth's biosphere. In the last 20 years, the application of genomics tools have revolutionized microbial ecological studies and drastically expanded our view on the previously underappreciated microbial world. This review first introduces the basic concepts in microbial ecology and the main genomics methods that have been used to examine natural microbial populations and communities. In the ensuing three specific sections, the applications of the genomics in microbial ecological research are highlighted. The first describes the widespread application of multilocus sequence typing and representational difference analysis in studying genetic variation within microbial species. Such investigations have identified that migration, horizontal gene transfer and recombination are common in natural microbial populations and that microbial strains can be highly variable in genome size and gene content. The second section highlights and summarizes the use of four specific genomics methods (phylogenetic analysis of ribosomal RNA, DNA-DNA re-association kinetics, metagenomics, and micro-arrays) in analysing the diversity and potential activity of microbial populations and communities from a variety of terrestrial and aquatic environments. Such analyses have identified many unexpected phylogenetic lineages in viruses, bacteria, archaea, and microbial eukaryotes. Functional analyses of environmental DNA also revealed highly prevalent, but previously unknown, metabolic processes in natural microbial communities. In the third section, the ecological implications of sequenced microbial genomes are briefly discussed. Comparative analyses of prokaryotic genomic sequences suggest the importance of ecology in determining microbial genome size and gene content. The significant variability in genome size and gene content among strains and species of prokaryotes indicate the highly fluid nature of prokaryotic genomes, a result consistent with those from multilocus sequence typing and representational difference analyses. The integration of various levels of ecological analyses coupled to the application and further development of high throughput technologies are accelerating the pace of discovery in microbial ecology.

Injuries observed in a prospective transition from traditional to minimalist footwear: correlation of high impact transient forces and lower injury severity.

PubMed

Salzler, Matthew J; Kirwan, Hollie J; Scarborough, Donna M; Walker, James T; Guarino, Anthony J; Berkson, Eric M

2016-11-01

Minimalist running is increasing in popularity based upon a concept that it can reduce impact forces and decrease injury rates. The purpose of this investigation is to identify the rate and severity of injuries in runners transitioning from traditional to minimalist footwear. The secondary aims were to identify factors correlated with injuries. Fourteen habitually shod (traditional running shoes) participants were enrolled for this prospective study investigating injury prevalence during transition from traditional running shoes to 5-toed minimalist shoes. Participants were uninjured, aged between 22-41 years, and ran at least twenty kilometers per week in traditional running shoes. Participants were given industry recommended guidelines for transition to minimalist footwear and fit with a 5-toed minimalist running shoe. They completed weekly logs for identification of injury, pain using Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), injury location, and severity. Foot strike pattern and impact forces were collected using 3D motion analysis at baseline, 4 weeks, and 12 weeks. Injuries were scored according to a modified Running Injury Severity Score (RISS). Fourteen runners completed weekly training and injury logs over an average of 30 weeks. Twelve of 14 (86%) runners sustained injuries. Average injury onset was 6 weeks (range 1-27 weeks). Average weekly mileage of 23.9 miles/week prior to transition declined to 18.3 miles/week after the transition. The magnitude of the baseline impact transient peak in traditional shoes and in minimalist shoes negatively correlated with RISS scores (r = -0.45, p = 0.055 and r = -0.53, p = 0.026, respectively). High injury rates occurred during the transition from traditional to minimalist footwear. Non-compliance to transition guidelines and high injury rates suggest the need for improved education. High impact transient forces unexpectedly predicted lower modified RISS scores in this population.

Comparing supervised and unsupervised multiresolution segmentation approaches for extracting buildings from very high resolution imagery.

PubMed

Belgiu, Mariana; Dr Guţ, Lucian

2014-10-01

Although multiresolution segmentation (MRS) is a powerful technique for dealing with very high resolution imagery, some of the image objects that it generates do not match the geometries of the target objects, which reduces the classification accuracy. MRS can, however, be guided to produce results that approach the desired object geometry using either supervised or unsupervised approaches. Although some studies have suggested that a supervised approach is preferable, there has been no comparative evaluation of these two approaches. Therefore, in this study, we have compared supervised and unsupervised approaches to MRS. One supervised and two unsupervised segmentation methods were tested on three areas using QuickBird and WorldView-2 satellite imagery. The results were assessed using both segmentation evaluation methods and an accuracy assessment of the resulting building classifications. Thus, differences in the geometries of the image objects and in the potential to achieve satisfactory thematic accuracies were evaluated. The two approaches yielded remarkably similar classification results, with overall accuracies ranging from 82% to 86%. The performance of one of the unsupervised methods was unexpectedly similar to that of the supervised method; they identified almost identical scale parameters as being optimal for segmenting buildings, resulting in very similar geometries for the resulting image objects. The second unsupervised method produced very different image objects from the supervised method, but their classification accuracies were still very similar. The latter result was unexpected because, contrary to previously published findings, it suggests a high degree of independence between the segmentation results and classification accuracy. The results of this study have two important implications. The first is that object-based image analysis can be automated without sacrificing classification accuracy, and the second is that the previously accepted idea that classification is dependent on segmentation is challenged by our unexpected results, casting doubt on the value of pursuing 'optimal segmentation'. Our results rather suggest that as long as under-segmentation remains at acceptable levels, imperfections in segmentation can be ruled out, so that a high level of classification accuracy can still be achieved.

Prevalence of Weight Problems among Youth with High-Incidence Disabilities in Residential Care

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Trout, Alexandra L.; Lambert, Matthew C.; Nelson, Timothy D.; Thompson, Ronald W.

2014-01-01

The prevalence of weight problems among youth in general and youth in out-of-home care has been well documented; however, the prevalence of obesity/overweight among youth with high-incidence disabilities in more restrictive settings, such as residential care, has not been assessed. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the prevalence of…

Use of potato genetic diversity to challenge abiotic stresses in the high Andes of Peru

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Unexpected frost is one of the most serious constraints in the Andean region and, recent climate change models are predicting even more severe and untimely frost episodes. Since agriculture is dependent on climate and sensitive to climate change, work is needed to keep it sustainable. From a long te...

Learning Unknown Event Models

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-07-01

Intelligence (www.aaai.org). All rights reserved. knowledge engineering, but it is often impractical due to high environment variance, or unknown events...distribution unlimited 13. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES In Proceedings of the Twenty-Eighth AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence , 27-31 July 2014...autonomy for responding to unexpected events in strategy simulations. Computational Intelligence , 29(2), 187-206. Leake, D. B. (1991), Goal-based

Periventricular leukomalacia and prenatal methamphetamine exposure: a case report.

PubMed

Murphy, Cary R; Bell, Edward F; Sato, Yutaka; Klein, Jonathan M

2007-02-01

Periventricular leukomalacia (PVL) is a complication of prematurity that carries a high risk of long-term neurologic morbidity. We report the first case, to our knowledge, of unexpected PVL associated with in utero methamphetamine exposure in a 30-week gestation premature infant with a benign hospital course, who subsequently developed cerebral palsy by 24 months of life.

Exploring the Stereochemistry of the Wittig Reaction: The Unexpected Influence of a Nominal Spectator Ion

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hanson, John; Dasher, Bill; Scharrer, Eric; Hoyt, Tim

2010-01-01

Students in the second-semester organic chemistry laboratory perform a Wittig reaction between butylidenetriphenylphosphorane (an ylide) and benzaldehyde and determine the relative percentages of the cis and trans isomers of the 1-phenyl-1-pentene product. Because of the highly reactive nature of this unstabilized ylide, students are introduced to…

Promises Kept or Opportunities Lost: A Wicked Problem in Educational Leadership

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beard, Karen Stansberry

2017-01-01

A novice principal's decision not to intervene on an ill-conceived policy prompts a parent to pursue a line of questioning administrators are not prepared for. In this case, a young man working through a high school transition while preparing for college is met with unexpected challenges in motivation. What the principal initially perceives as…

Assessment of General Education: An Unexpected (but Effective) Faculty Development Opportunity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hawthorne, Joan; Zerr, Ryan; Kelsch, Anne V.

2018-01-01

This chapter describes a collective faculty effort to administer, proctor, score, and interpret student work that created an unexpected opportunity for deep discussions of teaching, learning, and assessment.

Reprint of "pFind-Alioth: A novel unrestricted database search algorithm to improve the interpretation of high-resolution MS/MS data".

PubMed

Chi, Hao; He, Kun; Yang, Bing; Chen, Zhen; Sun, Rui-Xiang; Fan, Sheng-Bo; Zhang, Kun; Liu, Chao; Yuan, Zuo-Fei; Wang, Quan-Hui; Liu, Si-Qi; Dong, Meng-Qiu; He, Si-Min

2015-11-03

Database search is the dominant approach in high-throughput proteomic analysis. However, the interpretation rate of MS/MS spectra is very low in such a restricted mode, which is mainly due to unexpected modifications and irregular digestion types. In this study, we developed a new algorithm called Alioth, to be integrated into the search engine of pFind, for fast and accurate unrestricted database search on high-resolution MS/MS data. An ion index is constructed for both peptide precursors and fragment ions, by which arbitrary digestions and a single site of any modifications and mutations can be searched efficiently. A new re-ranking algorithm is used to distinguish the correct peptide-spectrum matches from random ones. The algorithm is tested on several HCD datasets and the interpretation rate of MS/MS spectra using Alioth is as high as 60%-80%. Peptides from semi- and non-specific digestions, as well as those with unexpected modifications or mutations, can be effectively identified using Alioth and confidently validated using other search engines. The average processing speed of Alioth is 5-10 times faster than some other unrestricted search engines and is comparable to or even faster than the restricted search algorithms tested.This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Computational Proteomics. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Prevalence of heroin markers in urine for pain management patients.

PubMed

Knight, Julie; Puet, Brandi L; DePriest, Anne; Heltsley, Rebecca; Hild, Cheryl; Black, David L; Robert, Timothy; Caplan, Yale H; Cone, Edward J

2014-10-01

Surveys of current trends indicate heroin abuse is associated with nonmedical use of pain relievers. Consequently, there is an interest in evaluating the presence of heroin-specific markers in chronic pain patients who are prescribed controlled substances. A total of 926,084 urine specimens from chronic pain patients were tested for heroin/diacetylmorphine (DAM), 6-acetylmorphine (6AM), 6-acetylcodeine (6AC), codeine (COD), and morphine (MOR). Heroin and markers were analyzed using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS-MS). Opiates were analyzed following hydrolysis using LC-MS-MS. The prevalence of heroin use was 0.31%, as 2871 were positive for one or more heroin-specific markers including DAM, 6AM, or 6AC (a known contaminant of illicit heroin). Of these, 1884 were additionally tested for the following markers of illicit drug use: 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), 3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA), methamphetamine (MAMP), 11-nor-9-carboxy-Δ(9)-tetracannabinol (THCCOOH), and benzoylecgonine (BZE); 654 (34.7%) had positive findings for one or more of these analytes. The overall prevalence of heroin markers were as follows: DAM 1203 (41.9%), 6AM 2570 (89.5%), 6AC 1082 (37.7%). MOR was present in 2194 (76.4%) and absent (

Structures of Rotavirus Reassortants Demonstrate Correlation of Altered Conformation of the VP4 Spike and Expression of Unexpected VP4-Associated Phenotypes

PubMed Central

Pesavento, Joseph B.; Billingsley, Angela M.; Roberts, Ed J.; Ramig, Robert F.; Prasad, B. V. Venkataram

2003-01-01

Numerous prior studies have indicated that viable rotavirus reassortants containing structural proteins of heterologous parental origin may express unexpected phenotypes, such as changes in infectivity and immunogenicity. To provide a structural basis for alterations in phenotypic expression, a three-dimensional structural analysis of these reassortants was conducted. The structures of the reassortants show that while VP4 generally maintains the parental structure when moved to a heterologous protein background, in certain reassortants, there are subtle alterations in the conformation of VP4. The alterations in VP4 conformation correlated with expression of unexpected VP4-associated phenotypes. Interactions between heterologous VP4 and VP7 in reassortants expressing unexpected phenotypes appeared to induce the conformational alterations seen in VP4. PMID:12584352

Assessing the Prevalence of Recurrent Neck and Shoulder Pain in Korean High School Male Students: A Cross-sectional Observational Study.

PubMed

Koh, Min Jung; Park, Sun Young; Woo, Young Sun; Kang, Sung Hyun; Park, Sang Hoon; Chun, Hye Jung; Park, Eun Jung

2012-07-01

Neck and shoulder pain (NSP) is fairly common in adolescents, which is associated with a high prevalence of NSP found during adulthood as well; therefore, its significance during adolescence should not be underestimated. We surveyed the prevalence of recurrent NSP, lifestyle, and risk factors in Korean high school students, and examined the influence of recurrent NSP on the quality of life. Nine hundred thirty one male students (16-19 years old) from two academic high schools in Seoul were included in this study. The survey consisted of a questionnaire to assess the prevalence of recurrent NSP, with questions regarding having an occurrence more than once a week, characteristics of NSP, activity and lifestyle of the students, and the risk factors for recurrent NSP. A 36-item Short Form questionnaire was also examined. We found that 44.3% of the high school students surveyed had recurrent NSP (more than once a week) and the overall prevalence of NSP was 79.1%. The average sitting time was 10.2 ± 2.7 h/day. 59.0% did not sit straight, 14.7% used assisting devices during reading, and 11.9% answered that they stretched regularly. Found from their self assessed health, frequent fatigue and frequent depressed mood presented significant associations with the higher prevalence of recurrent NSP. Korean high school students had a high prevalence of recurrent NSP. Clinical attention is needed for the prevention and resolution of recurrent NSP found in high school students.

Crystal structure of a small heat-shock protein from Xylella fastidiosa reveals a distinct high-order structure.

PubMed

Fonseca, Emanuella Maria Barreto; Scorsato, Valéria; Dos Santos, Marcelo Leite; Júnior, Atilio Tomazini; Tada, Susely Ferraz Siqueira; Dos Santos, Clelton Aparecido; de Toledo, Marcelo Augusto Szymanski; de Souza, Anete Pereira; Polikarpov, Igor; Aparicio, Ricardo

2017-04-01

Citrus variegated chlorosis is a disease that attacks economically important citrus plantations and is caused by the plant-pathogenic bacterium Xylella fastidiosa. In this work, the structure of a small heat-shock protein from X. fastidiosa (XfsHSP17.9) is reported. The high-order structures of small heat-shock proteins from other organisms are arranged in the forms of double-disc, hollow-sphere or spherical assemblies. Unexpectedly, the structure reported here reveals a high-order architecture forming a nearly square cavity.

The assessment of cyberstalking: an expanded examination including social networking, attachment, jealousy, and anger in relation to violence and abuse.

PubMed

Strawhun, Jenna; Adams, Natasha; Huss, Matthew T

2013-01-01

Because the first antistalking statute was enacted in California in 1990, stalking research has been expanded immensely, yet been largely confined to exploring traditional pursuit tactics. This study instead examined the prevalence and correlates of cyberstalking behaviors while examining the phenomenon in a more inclusive manner than previous studies focusing on cyberstalking by including social networking avenues. In addition to a measure assessing cyberstalking-related behaviors, questionnaires assessing pathological aspects of personality, including attachment style, interpersonal jealousy, interpersonal violence, and anger were also provided to participants. Results indicate that, given preliminary evidence, cyberstalking-related behaviors are related to past measures of traditional stalking and cyberstalking, although prior attachment, jealousy, and violence issues within relationships are significant predictors of cyberstalking-related behaviors. In addition, unexpected gender differences emerged. For example, women admitted greater frequencies of cyberstalking perpetration than males, signaling that further research on frequency and motivation for cyberstalking among the sexes is necessary.

Information for the user in design of intelligent systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Malin, Jane T.; Schreckenghost, Debra L.

1993-01-01

Recommendations are made for improving intelligent system reliability and usability based on the use of information requirements in system development. Information requirements define the task-relevant messages exchanged between the intelligent system and the user by means of the user interface medium. Thus, these requirements affect the design of both the intelligent system and its user interface. Many difficulties that users have in interacting with intelligent systems are caused by information problems. These information problems result from the following: (1) not providing the right information to support domain tasks; and (2) not recognizing that using an intelligent system introduces new user supervisory tasks that require new types of information. These problems are especially prevalent in intelligent systems used for real-time space operations, where data problems and unexpected situations are common. Information problems can be solved by deriving information requirements from a description of user tasks. Using information requirements embeds human-computer interaction design into intelligent system prototyping, resulting in intelligent systems that are more robust and easier to use.

There's alcohol in my soap: portrayal and effects of alcohol use in a popular television series.

PubMed

van Hoof, Joris J; de Jong, Menno D T; Fennis, Bob M; Gosselt, Jordy F

2009-06-01

Two studies are reported addressing the media influences on adolescents' alcohol-related attitudes and behaviours. A content analysis was conducted to investigate the prevalence of alcohol portrayal in a Dutch soap series. The coding scheme covered the alcohol consumption per soap character, drinking situations and drinking times. Inter-coder reliability was satisfactory. The results showed that alcohol portrayal was prominent and that many instances of alcohol use reflected undesirable behaviours. To assess the influence of such alcohol cues on adolescents, a 2x2 experiment was conducted focusing on the separate and combined effects of alcohol portrayal in the soap series and surrounding alcohol commercials. Whereas the alcohol commercials had the expected effects on adolescents' attitudes, the alcohol-related soap content only appeared to have unexpected effects. Adolescents who were exposed to the alcohol portrayal in the soap series had a less positive attitude towards alcohol and lower drinking intentions. Implications of these findings for health policy and future research are discussed.

Cascading reminiscence bumps in popular music.

PubMed

Krumhansl, Carol Lynne; Zupnick, Justin Adam

2013-10-01

Autobiographical memories are disproportionately recalled for events in late adolescence and early adulthood, a phenomenon called the reminiscence bump. Previous studies on music have found autobiographical memories and life-long preferences for music from this period. In the present study, we probed young adults' personal memories associated with top hits over 5-and-a-half decades, as well as the context of their memories and their recognition of, preference for, quality judgments of, and emotional reactions to that music. All these measures showed the typical increase for music released during the two decades of their lives. Unexpectedly, we found that the same measures peaked for the music of participants' parents' generation. This finding points to the impact of music in childhood and suggests that these results reflect the prevalence of music in the home environment. An earlier peak occurred for 1960s music, which may be explained by its quality or by its transmission through two generations. We refer to this pattern of musical cultural transmission over generations as cascading reminiscence bumps.

Effusive-constrictive pericarditis as the manifestation of an unexpected diagnosis.

PubMed

Marta, Liliana; Alves, Miguel; Peres, Marisa; Ferreira, Ricardo; Ferreira, Hugo; Leal, Margarida; Nobre, Ângelo

2015-01-01

Constrictive pericarditis is a clinical condition characterized by the appearance of signs and symptoms of right heart failure due to loss of pericardial compliance. Cardiac surgery is now one of the most frequent causes in developed countries, while tuberculosis remains the most prevalent cause in developing countries. Malignancy is a rare cause but usually has a poor prognosis. The diagnosis of constrictive pericarditis remains a clinical challenge and requires a combination of noninvasive diagnostic methods (echocardiography, cardiac magnetic resonance and computed tomography); in some cases, cardiac catheterization is needed to confirm the diagnosis. The authors present the case of a 51-year-old man, hospitalized due to cardiac tamponade. Diagnostic investigation was suggestive of tuberculous etiology. Despite directed medical therapy, the patient developed effusive-constrictive physiology. He underwent pericardiectomy and anatomopathologic study suggested a neoplastic etiology. The patient died in the postoperative period from biventricular failure. Copyright © 2014 Sociedade Portuguesa de Cardiologia. Published by Elsevier España. All rights reserved.

Predictors of 5-year mortality following inpatient/residential group treatment for substance use disorders.

PubMed

Johnson, Jennifer E; Finney, John W; Moos, Rudolf H

2005-08-01

This study examined the prevalence and predictors of 5-year mortality following treatment for substance use disorders. The predictors were assessed at baseline, at discharge, and at a 1-year follow-up for 3698 male veterans, and included demographic, substance use, medical, and psychological functioning, social support, and continuing care. The annual mortality rate was 2.38%, with an observed/expected ratio of 3.05. After accounting for significant demographic, substance use, psychological, and medical conditions, not having a spouse or partner at intake independently predicted 5-year mortality. After accounting for intake variables, more depression at discharge and more medical conditions, a diagnosis of HIV or AIDS, more ounces of ethanol on a maximum drinking day, and lack of a spouse or partner at the 1-year follow-up independently predicted 5-year mortality. Unexpectedly, good quality relationships were related to a higher mortality risk. Results can be used to increase at-risk patients' motivation for recovery.

Genotyping of Leptospira directly in urine samples of cattle demonstrates a diversity of species and strains in Brazil.

PubMed

Hamond, C; Pestana, C P; Medeiros, M A; Lilenbaum, W

2016-01-01

The aim of this study was to identify Leptospira in urine samples of cattle by direct sequencing of the secY gene. The validity of this approach was assessed using ten Leptospira strains obtained from cattle in Brazil and 77 DNA samples previously extracted from cattle urine, that were positive by PCR for the genus-specific lipL32 gene of Leptospira. Direct sequencing identified 24 (31·1%) interpretable secY sequences and these were identical to those obtained from direct DNA sequencing of the urine samples from which they were recovered. Phylogenetic analyses identified four species: L. interrogans, L. borgpetersenii, L. noguchii, and L. santarosai with the most prevalent genotypes being associated with L. borgpetersenii. While direct sequencing cannot, as yet, replace culturing of leptospires, it is a valid additional tool for epidemiological studies. An unexpected finding from this study was the genetic diversity of Leptospira infecting Brazilian cattle.

Taeniasis/cysticercosis in Bali, Indonesia.

PubMed

Wandra, Toni; Sudewi, A A Raka; Swastika, I Kadek; Sutisna, Putu; Dharmawan, Nyoman S; Yulfi, Hemma; Darlan, Dewi Masyithah; Kapti, I Nengah; Samaan, Gina; Sato, Marcello Otake; Okamoto, Munehiro; Sako, Yasuhito; Ito, Akira

2011-07-01

Taenia solium and Taenia saginata are found in humans in Bali, Indonesia. During a field survey of 660 people in Bali from 2002-2009 of taeniasis/cysticercosis cases using mitochondrial DNA confirmation of the species, we detected 80 cases of T. saginata taeniasis, 2 dual T. saginata/T. solium infections with T. solium metacestodes in the brain and 12 neurocysticercosis (NCC) cases at Sanglah Hospital, Denpasar. Although the prevalence of NCC in Bali is low, sporadic cases are still present. There is no Taenia asiatica in Bali. We summarize here the field survey findings of taeniasis, including 1 dual infection with taeniasis and cysticercosis in 2007, and the reason why there are no T. asiatica cases and we describe 3 NCC cases admitted to Sanglah Hospital, Denpasar, Bali in 2004. Diagnosis was based on anamnesis, clinical examination, including CT Scan, histopathological, serological and mitochondrial DNA examinations. In order to prevent unexpected symptomatic NCC after treatment with praziquantel, we recommend introducing a rapid test to confirm taeniasis carriers and cysticercosis cases as a tool for real time diagnosis.

RNA-directed activation of cytoplasmic dynein-1 in reconstituted transport RNPs.

PubMed

McClintock, Mark A; Dix, Carly I; Johnson, Christopher M; McLaughlin, Stephen H; Maizels, Rory J; Hoang, Ha Thi; Bullock, Simon L

2018-06-26

Polarised mRNA transport is a prevalent mechanism for spatial control of protein synthesis. However, the composition of transported ribonucleoprotein particles (RNPs) and the regulation of their movement are poorly understood. We have reconstituted microtubule minus end-directed transport of mRNAs using purified components. A Bicaudal-D (BicD) adaptor protein and the RNA-binding protein Egalitarian (Egl) are sufficient for long-distance mRNA transport by the dynein motor and its accessory complex dynactin, thus defining a minimal transport-competent RNP. Unexpectedly, the RNA is required for robust activation of dynein motility. We show that a cis -acting RNA localisation signal promotes the interaction of Egl with BicD, which licenses the latter protein to recruit dynein and dynactin. Our data support a model for BicD activation based on RNA-induced occupancy of two Egl-binding sites on the BicD dimer. Scaffolding of adaptor protein assemblies by cargoes is an attractive mechanism for regulating intracellular transport. © 2018, McClintock et al.

An internal thioester in a pathogen surface protein mediates covalent host binding

PubMed Central

Walden, Miriam; Edwards, John M; Dziewulska, Aleksandra M; Bergmann, Rene; Saalbach, Gerhard; Kan, Su-Yin; Miller, Ona K; Weckener, Miriam; Jackson, Rosemary J; Shirran, Sally L; Botting, Catherine H; Florence, Gordon J; Rohde, Manfred; Banfield, Mark J; Schwarz-Linek, Ulrich

2015-01-01

To cause disease and persist in a host, pathogenic and commensal microbes must adhere to tissues. Colonization and infection depend on specific molecular interactions at the host-microbe interface that involve microbial surface proteins, or adhesins. To date, adhesins are only known to bind to host receptors non-covalently. Here we show that the streptococcal surface protein SfbI mediates covalent interaction with the host protein fibrinogen using an unusual internal thioester bond as a ‘chemical harpoon’. This cross-linking reaction allows bacterial attachment to fibrin and SfbI binding to human cells in a model of inflammation. Thioester-containing domains are unexpectedly prevalent in Gram-positive bacteria, including many clinically relevant pathogens. Our findings support bacterial-encoded covalent binding as a new molecular principle in host-microbe interactions. This represents an as yet unexploited target to treat bacterial infection and may also offer novel opportunities for engineering beneficial interactions. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.06638.001 PMID:26032562

Inattentional Blindness and Individual Differences in Cognitive Abilities.

PubMed

Kreitz, Carina; Furley, Philip; Memmert, Daniel; Simons, Daniel J

2015-01-01

People sometimes fail to notice salient unexpected objects when their attention is otherwise occupied, a phenomenon known as inattentional blindness. To explore individual differences in inattentional blindness, we employed both static and dynamic tasks that either presented the unexpected object away from the focus of attention (spatial) or near the focus of attention (central). We hypothesized that noticing in central tasks might be driven by the availability of cognitive resources like working memory, and that noticing in spatial tasks might be driven by the limits on spatial attention like attention breadth. However, none of the cognitive measures predicted noticing in the dynamic central task or in either the static or dynamic spatial task. Only in the central static task did working memory capacity predict noticing, and that relationship was fairly weak. Furthermore, whether or not participants noticed an unexpected object in a static task was only weakly associated with their odds of noticing an unexpected object in a dynamic task. Taken together, our results are largely consistent with the notion that noticing unexpected objects is driven more by stochastic processes common to all people than by stable individual differences in cognitive abilities.

Inattentional Blindness and Individual Differences in Cognitive Abilities

PubMed Central

Kreitz, Carina; Furley, Philip; Memmert, Daniel; Simons, Daniel J.

2015-01-01

People sometimes fail to notice salient unexpected objects when their attention is otherwise occupied, a phenomenon known as inattentional blindness. To explore individual differences in inattentional blindness, we employed both static and dynamic tasks that either presented the unexpected object away from the focus of attention (spatial) or near the focus of attention (central). We hypothesized that noticing in central tasks might be driven by the availability of cognitive resources like working memory, and that noticing in spatial tasks might be driven by the limits on spatial attention like attention breadth. However, none of the cognitive measures predicted noticing in the dynamic central task or in either the static or dynamic spatial task. Only in the central static task did working memory capacity predict noticing, and that relationship was fairly weak. Furthermore, whether or not participants noticed an unexpected object in a static task was only weakly associated with their odds of noticing an unexpected object in a dynamic task. Taken together, our results are largely consistent with the notion that noticing unexpected objects is driven more by stochastic processes common to all people than by stable individual differences in cognitive abilities. PMID:26258545

Abnormal Frontostriatal Activity During Unexpected Reward Receipt in Depression and Schizophrenia: Relationship to Anhedonia.

PubMed

Segarra, Nuria; Metastasio, Antonio; Ziauddeen, Hisham; Spencer, Jennifer; Reinders, Niels R; Dudas, Robert B; Arrondo, Gonzalo; Robbins, Trevor W; Clark, Luke; Fletcher, Paul C; Murray, Graham K

2016-07-01

Alterations in reward processes may underlie motivational and anhedonic symptoms in depression and schizophrenia. However it remains unclear whether these alterations are disorder-specific or shared, and whether they clearly relate to symptom generation or not. We studied brain responses to unexpected rewards during a simulated slot-machine game in 24 patients with depression, 21 patients with schizophrenia, and 21 healthy controls using functional magnetic resonance imaging. We investigated relationships between brain activation, task-related motivation, and questionnaire rated anhedonia. There was reduced activation in the orbitofrontal cortex, ventral striatum, inferior temporal gyrus, and occipital cortex in both depression and schizophrenia in comparison with healthy participants during receipt of unexpected reward. In the medial prefrontal cortex both patient groups showed reduced activation, with activation significantly more abnormal in schizophrenia than depression. Anterior cingulate and medial frontal cortical activation predicted task-related motivation, which in turn predicted anhedonia severity in schizophrenia. Our findings provide evidence for overlapping hypofunction in ventral striatal and orbitofrontal regions in depression and schizophrenia during unexpected reward receipt, and for a relationship between unexpected reward processing in the medial prefrontal cortex and the generation of motivational states.

The Investigation of Unexpected Arsenic Compounds Observed in Routine Biological Monitoring Urinary Speciation Analysis

PubMed Central

Leese, Elizabeth; Clench, Malcolm; Morton, Jackie; Gardiner, Philip H.E.; Carolan, Vikki A.

2017-01-01

This study investigates the identity of two unexpected arsenic species found separately in a number of urine samples sent to the Health and Safety Executive’s Health and Safety Laboratory for arsenic speciation (arsenobetaine, AB; arsenite, As3+; arsenate, As5+; monomethylarsonic acid, MMA5+; and dimethylarsinic acid, DMA5+). Micro liquid chromatography coupled to inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (µLC-ICP-MS) and electrospray time of flight tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-QqTOF-MS/MS) were used to identify the two arsenic peaks by comparison to several characterized arsenicals: arsenocholine, AC; trimethyl arsine oxide, TMAO; dimethylarsenoacetate, DMAA; dimethylarsenoethanol, DMAE; thio-dimethylarsinate, thio-DMA; thio-dimethylarsenoacetate, thio-DMAA and thio-dimethylarsenoethanol, thio-DMAE. The results from both the ICP-MS and ESI-QqTOF-MS/MS investigations indicate that the unexpected arsenic species termed peak 1 was thio-DMA. While the unexpected arsenic species termed peak 2 has yet to be identified, this investigation shows that it was not AC, TMAO, DMAA, DMAE, thio-DMA, thio-DMAA or thio-DMAE. This study demonstrates the incidence of unexpected arsenic species in both routine and non-routine urine samples from both workers and hospital patients. PMID:29051444

Abnormal Frontostriatal Activity During Unexpected Reward Receipt in Depression and Schizophrenia: Relationship to Anhedonia

PubMed Central

Segarra, Nuria; Metastasio, Antonio; Ziauddeen, Hisham; Spencer, Jennifer; Reinders, Niels R; Dudas, Robert B; Arrondo, Gonzalo; Robbins, Trevor W; Clark, Luke; Fletcher, Paul C; Murray, Graham K

2016-01-01

Alterations in reward processes may underlie motivational and anhedonic symptoms in depression and schizophrenia. However it remains unclear whether these alterations are disorder-specific or shared, and whether they clearly relate to symptom generation or not. We studied brain responses to unexpected rewards during a simulated slot-machine game in 24 patients with depression, 21 patients with schizophrenia, and 21 healthy controls using functional magnetic resonance imaging. We investigated relationships between brain activation, task-related motivation, and questionnaire rated anhedonia. There was reduced activation in the orbitofrontal cortex, ventral striatum, inferior temporal gyrus, and occipital cortex in both depression and schizophrenia in comparison with healthy participants during receipt of unexpected reward. In the medial prefrontal cortex both patient groups showed reduced activation, with activation significantly more abnormal in schizophrenia than depression. Anterior cingulate and medial frontal cortical activation predicted task-related motivation, which in turn predicted anhedonia severity in schizophrenia. Our findings provide evidence for overlapping hypofunction in ventral striatal and orbitofrontal regions in depression and schizophrenia during unexpected reward receipt, and for a relationship between unexpected reward processing in the medial prefrontal cortex and the generation of motivational states. PMID:26708106

The social transition of risk factors for cardiovascular disease in the African region: evidence from three cross-sectional surveys in the Seychelles.

PubMed

Stringhini, Silvia; Viswanathan, Bharathi; Gédéon, Jude; Paccaud, Fred; Bovet, Pascal

2013-09-30

To examine the association between socioeconomic status (SES) and several cardiovascular disease risk factors (CVRFs) and to assess whether this association has changed over a 15-year observation period. Three independent population-based surveys of CVRFs were conducted in representative samples of all adults aged 25-64 years in the Seychelles, a small island state located east to Kenya, in 1989 (N=1081), 1994 (N=1067) and 2004 (N=1255). Among men, current smoking and heavy drinking were more prevalent in the low versus the high SES group, and obesity was less prevalent. The socioeconomic gradient in diabetes reversed over the study period from lower prevalence in the low versus the high SES group to higher prevalence in the low SES group. Hypercholesterolemia was less prevalent in the low versus the high SES group in 1989 but the prevalence was similar in the two groups in 2004. Hypertension showed no consistent socioeconomic pattern. Among women, the SES gradient in smoking tended to reverse over time from lower prevalence in the low SES group to lower prevalence in the high SES group. Obesity and diabetes were more common in the low versus the high SES group over the study period. Heavy drinking, hypertension and hypercholesterolemia were not socially patterned among women. The prevalence of several CVRFs was higher in low versus high SES groups in a rapidly developing country in the African region, and an increase of the burden of these CVRFs in the most disadvantaged groups of the population was observed over the 15 years study period. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Missing Rings, Synchronous Growth, and Ecological Disturbance in a 36-Year Pitch Pine (Pinus rigida) Provenance Study.

PubMed

Leland, Caroline; Hom, John; Skowronski, Nicholas; Ledig, F Thomas; Krusic, Paul J; Cook, Edward R; Martin-Benito, Dario; Martin-Fernandez, Javier; Pederson, Neil

2016-01-01

Provenance studies are an increasingly important analog for understanding how trees adapted to particular climatic conditions might respond to climate change. Dendrochronological analysis can illuminate differences among trees from different seed sources in terms of absolute annual growth and sensitivity to external growth factors. We analyzed annual radial growth of 567 36-year-old pitch pine (Pinus rigida Mill.) trees from 27 seed sources to evaluate their performance in a New Jersey Pine Barrens provenance experiment. Unexpectedly, missing rings were prevalent in most trees, and some years-1992, 1999, and 2006-had a particularly high frequency of missing rings across the plantation. Trees from local seed sources (<55 km away from the plantation) had a significantly smaller percentage of missing rings from 1980-2009 (mean: 5.0%), relative to northernmost and southernmost sources (mean: 9.3% and 7.9%, respectively). Some years with a high frequency of missing rings coincide with outbreaks of defoliating insects or dry growing season conditions. The propensity for missing rings synchronized annual variations in growth across all trees and might have complicated the detection of potential differences in interannual variability among seed sources. Average ring width was significantly larger in seed sources from both the southernmost and warmest origins compared to the northernmost and coldest seed sources in most years. Local seed sources had the highest average radial growth. Adaptation to local environmental conditions and disturbances might have influenced the higher growth rate found in local seed sources. These findings underscore the need to understand the integrative impact of multiple environmental drivers, such as disturbance agents and climate change, on tree growth, forest dynamics, and the carbon cycle.

Missing Rings, Synchronous Growth, and Ecological Disturbance in a 36-Year Pitch Pine (Pinus rigida) Provenance Study

PubMed Central

Leland, Caroline; Hom, John; Skowronski, Nicholas; Krusic, Paul J.; Cook, Edward R.; Martin-Benito, Dario; Martin-Fernandez, Javier; Pederson, Neil

2016-01-01

Provenance studies are an increasingly important analog for understanding how trees adapted to particular climatic conditions might respond to climate change. Dendrochronological analysis can illuminate differences among trees from different seed sources in terms of absolute annual growth and sensitivity to external growth factors. We analyzed annual radial growth of 567 36-year-old pitch pine (Pinus rigida Mill.) trees from 27 seed sources to evaluate their performance in a New Jersey Pine Barrens provenance experiment. Unexpectedly, missing rings were prevalent in most trees, and some years—1992, 1999, and 2006—had a particularly high frequency of missing rings across the plantation. Trees from local seed sources (<55 km away from the plantation) had a significantly smaller percentage of missing rings from 1980–2009 (mean: 5.0%), relative to northernmost and southernmost sources (mean: 9.3% and 7.9%, respectively). Some years with a high frequency of missing rings coincide with outbreaks of defoliating insects or dry growing season conditions. The propensity for missing rings synchronized annual variations in growth across all trees and might have complicated the detection of potential differences in interannual variability among seed sources. Average ring width was significantly larger in seed sources from both the southernmost and warmest origins compared to the northernmost and coldest seed sources in most years. Local seed sources had the highest average radial growth. Adaptation to local environmental conditions and disturbances might have influenced the higher growth rate found in local seed sources. These findings underscore the need to understand the integrative impact of multiple environmental drivers, such as disturbance agents and climate change, on tree growth, forest dynamics, and the carbon cycle. PMID:27182599

High seroprevalence for indigenous spotted fever group rickettsiae in forestry workers from the federal state of Brandenburg, Eastern Germany.

PubMed

Wölfel, Silke; Speck, Stephanie; Essbauer, Sandra; Thoma, Bryan R; Mertens, Marc; Werdermann, Sandra; Niederstrasser, Olaf; Petri, Eckhardt; Ulrich, Rainer G; Wölfel, Roman; Dobler, Gerhard

2017-01-01

In the last decade six Rickettsia species, including Rickettsia slovaca have been characterized in Germany. All of these species could be linked to distinct clinical syndromes in humans. However, due to lack of seroepidemiological data an estimation of the prevalence and the public health impact of rickettsial infections in Germany is difficult. The aim of the present study was to determine the seroprevalence of spotted fever group (SFG) rickettsiae in a population with an elevated exposure risk to ticks. For that purpose, 559 sera of forestry workers in the federal state of Brandenburg, Eastern Germany, were screened for SFG-rickettsiae reactive IgG antibodies. Positive sera were subsequently titrated by microimmunofluorescence assay against R. helvetica, R. raoultii, R. felis, "R. monacensis" and R. slovaca. The total average IgG seroprevalence rate against SFG rickettsiae of 27.5% was found to be represented by 9.7% R. helvetica, 5% R. raoultii, 2.7% R. felis, 0.5% "R. monacensis" and 0.5% R. slovaca. The remaining 9.1% positive test results were of non-differentiable origin. IgG seroprevalences ranged from 11% to 55% in the different forestry districts. Older and male participants had a significantly higher probability for seropositivity and higher anti-rickettsia antibody titer level. In addition, the number of recent as well as the recalled lifetime tick bites was significantly associated with seropositivity and higher titers against SFG rickettsiae. In conclusion, we found an unexpected high total seroprevalence against SFG rickettsiae in forestry workers and serological evidence confirming the occurrence of R. raoultii, R. felis, "R. monacensis" and R. helvetica in the federal State of Brandenburg. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Incidence of opportunistic illness before and after initiation of highly active antiretroviral therapy in children.

PubMed

Nesheim, Steven R; Hardnett, Felicia; Wheeling, John T; Siberry, George K; Paul, Mary E; Emmanuel, Patricia; Bohannon, Beverly; Dominguez, Kenneth

2013-10-01

Little is known about immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome in children in the United States. LEGACY is a longitudinal cohort study of HIV-infected participants 0-24 years at enrollment during 2005 to 2007 from 22 US clinics. For this analysis, we included participants with complete medical record abstraction from birth or time of HIV diagnosis through 2006. Opportunistic illness (OI) included AIDS-defining conditions and selected HIV-related diagnoses. We calculated the incidence (#/100 patient-years) of OI diagnosed in the months pre- and postinitiation of the first highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) regimen which was followed by ≥1 log reduction in HIV viral load. We defined OI as immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome if an OI incidence increased after HAART initiation. "Responders" were defined as experiencing ≥1 log decline in viral load within 6 months after HAART initiation. Among 575 patients with complete chart abstraction, 524 received HAART. Of these 524 patients, 343 were responders, 181 were nonresponders and 86 experienced OI. Responders accounted for 98 of 124 (79%) of OI. Pre-HAART and post-HAART OI incidences were 43.7 and 24.4 (P = 0.003), respectively, among responders and 15.9 and 9.1 (P = 0.2), respectively, among nonresponders. Overall, OI incidences among responders and nonresponders were 33.8 and 12.3, respectively (P = 0.002). Responders were more likely than nonresponders to experience herpes simplex and herpes zoster before HAART initiation (all, P < 0.002). The lack of immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome in participants initiating HAART may be due to low overall OI rates. The unexpectedly higher OI prevalence comprised mainly of herpes simplex and zoster, before HAART initiation among responders, may have motivated them to better adhere to HAART.

Epidemiological study of mortality in epilepsy in a Spanish population.

PubMed

Chamorro-Muñoz, María Isabel; García-Martín, Guillermina; Pérez-Errazquin, Francisco; Romero-Acebal, Manuel; García-Rodríguez, Antonio; Gutiérrez-Bedmar, Mario

2017-03-01

Studies concerning mortality in epilepsy have been performed primarily in Northern-Central Europe and US. The aim of this study was to provide information about mortality in people with epilepsy in Southern European countries. We studied a Spanish prevalence and incidence cohort of 2309 patients aged ≥14 years with epilepsy who were treated in an outpatient epilepsy clinic between 2000 and 2013. The deceased were identified through Civil Registries. Causes of death were determined using death certificates, forensic autopsies, hospital reports, family practitioners, and care-givers' records. Standardised mortality ratios (SMRs) were calculated. In a total of 15,865 person-years of follow-up, 152 patients died, resulting in an SMR of 2.11 (95% CI 1.79-2.47), which was higher for those aged 14-24. There was also a high rate of death for symptomatic epilepsies, progressive causes (SMR=6.12, CI 3.50-9.94), and remote causes (SMR=2.62, CI 2.12-3.21). High SMRs were found for all kinds of epilepsy and for respiratory and tumoural causes. Patients who died of epilepsy itself were 12.5%. Sudden unexpected death in epilepsy incidence was 0.44:1000. Death from status epilepticus incidence was 20:100,000. SMRs for external causes were of no statistical significance. This is the first epidemiological study to examine rate of mortality in epilepsy in a Southern European country. The identified mortality pattern is similar to the one provided by researchers from developed countries. The similarities between our results concerning epilepsy-related deaths and those provided by population-based studies are the result of the scarcely selected character of our study cohort. Copyright © 2017 British Epilepsy Association. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Unexpected biodiversity of ciliates in marine samples from below the photic zone.

PubMed

Grattepanche, Jean-David; Santoferrara, Luciana F; McManus, George B; Katz, Laura A

2016-08-01

Marine microbial eukaryotes play critical roles in planktonic food webs and have been described as most diverse in the photic zone where productivity is high. We used high-throughput sequencing (HTS) to analyse the spatial distribution of planktonic ciliate diversity from shallow waters (<30 m depth) to beyond the continental shelf (>800 m depth) along a 163 km transect off the coast of New England, USA. We focus on ciliates in the subclasses Oligotrichia and Choreotrichia (class Spirotrichea), as these taxa are major components of marine food webs. We did not observe the decrease of diversity below the photic zone expected based on productivity and previous analyses. Instead, we saw an increase of diversity with depth. We also observed that the ciliate communities assessed by HTS cluster by depth layer and degree of water column stratification, suggesting that community assembly is driven by environmental factors. Across our samples, abundant OTUs tend to match previously characterized morphospecies while rare OTUs are more often undescribed, consistent with the idea that species in the rare biosphere remain to be characterized by microscopy. Finally, samples taken below the photic zone also reveal the prevalence of two uncharacterized (i.e. lacking sequenced morphospecies) clades - clusters X1 and X2 - that are enriched within the nano-sized fraction (2-10 μm) and are defined by deletions within the region of the SSU-rDNA analysed here. Together, these data reinforce that we still have much to learn about microbial diversity in marine ecosystems, especially in deep-waters that may be a reservoir for rare species and uncharacterized taxa. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

75 FR 67015 - Unexpected Urgent Refugee And Migration Needs Resulting From Flooding InPakistan

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-11-01

... September 3, 2010 Unexpected Urgent Refugee And Migration Needs Resulting From Flooding InPakistan... humanitarian needs resulting from recent devastating flooding in Pakistan. You are authorized and directed to...

75 FR 34617 - Unexpected Urgent Refugee and Migration Needs Related to Somalia and Food Pipeline Breaks for...

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2010-06-18

... unexpected and urgent refugee and migration needs, including by contributions to international, governmental, and nongovernmental organizations and payment of administrative expenses of the Bureau of Population...

75 FR 67013 - Unexpected Urgent Refugee and Migration Needs Resulting from Violence in Kyrgyzstan

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-11-01

... August 26, 2010 Unexpected Urgent Refugee and Migration Needs Resulting from Violence in Kyrgyzstan... humanitarian needs resulting from recent violence in Kyrgyzstan. You are authorized and directed to publish...

Evidence base for children affected by HIV and AIDS in low prevalence and concentrated epidemic countries: applicability to programming guidance from high prevalence countries.

PubMed

Franco, Lynne Miller; Burkhalter, Bart; de Wagt, Arjan; Jennings, Larissa; Kelley, Allison Gamble; Hammink, Marie-Eve

2009-01-01

As global commitment grows to protect and support children affected by HIV and AIDS, questions remain about how best to meet the needs of these children in low prevalence settings and whether information from high prevalence countries can appropriately guide programming in these settings. A 2007 search for the evidence in low prevalence settings on situational challenges of HIV and AIDS-affected children and interventions to address these challenges identified 413 documents. They were reviewed and judged for quality of documentation and scientific rigor. Information was compiled across eight types of challenges (health and health care, nutrition and food security, education, protection, placement, psychosocial development, socioeconomic status, and stigma/discrimination); and also assessed was strength of evidence for situational and intervention findings. Results were compared to three programming principles drawn from research in high prevalence countries: family-centered preventive efforts, treatment, and care; family-focused support to ensure capacity to care for and protect these children; and sustaining economic livelihood of HIV and AIDS-affected households. Findings show that children affected by HIV and AIDS in low prevalence settings face increased vulnerabilities similar to those in high prevalence settings. These findings support seeking and testing programmatic directions for interventions identified in high prevalence settings. However, low prevalence settings/countries are extremely diverse, and the strength of the evidence base among them was mixed (strong, moderate, and weak in study design and documentation), geographically limited, and had insufficient evidence on interventions to draw conclusions about how best to reduce additional vulnerabilities of affected children. Information on family, economic, sociocultural, and political factors within local contexts will be vital in the development of appropriate strategies to mitigate vulnerabilities.

Prevalence of HIV Among U.S. Female Sex Workers: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

PubMed Central

Noble, Meredith; Salo, Kathryn; Tregear, Stephen J.

2016-01-01

Although female sex workers are known to be vulnerable to HIV infection, little is known about the epidemiology of HIV infection among this high-risk population in the United States. We systematically identified and critically assessed published studies reporting HIV prevalence among female sex workers in the United States. We searched for and included original English-language articles reporting data on the prevalence of HIV as determined by testing at least 50 females who exchanged sexual practices for money or drugs. We did not apply any restrictions on date of publication. We included 14 studies from 1987 to 2013 that reported HIV prevalence for a total of 3975 adult female sex workers. Only two of the 14 studies were conducted in the last 10 years. The pooled estimate of HIV prevalence was 17.3 % (95 % CI 13.5–21.9 %); however, the prevalence of HIV across individual studies varied considerably (ranging from 0.3 to 32 %) and statistical heterogeneity was substantial (I2 = 0.89, Q = 123; p < 0.001). Although the variance across the 14 studies was high, prevalence was generally high (10 % or greater in 11 of the 14 included studies). Very few studies have documented the prevalence of HIV among female sex workers in the United States; however, the available evidence does suggest that HIV prevalence among this vulnerable population is high. PMID:26914165

A parameter control method in reinforcement learning to rapidly follow unexpected environmental changes.

PubMed

Murakoshi, Kazushi; Mizuno, Junya

2004-11-01

In order to rapidly follow unexpected environmental changes, we propose a parameter control method in reinforcement learning that changes each of learning parameters in appropriate directions. We determine each appropriate direction on the basis of relationships between behaviors and neuromodulators by considering an emergency as a key word. Computer experiments show that the agents using our proposed method could rapidly respond to unexpected environmental changes, not depending on either two reinforcement learning algorithms (Q-learning and actor-critic (AC) architecture) or two learning problems (discontinuous and continuous state-action problems).

Expectancy Disconfirmation and Attitude Change.

PubMed

McPeek, Robert W; Edwards, John D

1975-08-01

An experiment was conducted testing the hypothesis that sources delivering unexpected communications (long-haired males arguing against marijuana usage and seminarians arguing in its favor) would be more persuasive than communicators of expected messages (promarijuana hippies and antimarijuana seminarians). Greater attitude change for unexpected sources was found only when the message was antimarijuana. Unexpected communicators also were rated as more sincere and honest than expected sources. Possible reasons for the failure of the expectancy effect to hold for promarijuana communications were suggested, and the results were discussed in terms of a variety of social-psychological theories.

The Effect of Rural-to-Urban Migration on Obesity and Diabetes in India: A Cross-Sectional Study

PubMed Central

Ebrahim, Shah; Kinra, Sanjay; Bowen, Liza; Andersen, Elizabeth; Ben-Shlomo, Yoav; Lyngdoh, Tanica; Ramakrishnan, Lakshmy; Ahuja, R. C.; Joshi, Prashant; Das, S. Mohan; Mohan, Murali; Davey Smith, George; Prabhakaran, Dorairaj; Reddy, K. Srinath

2010-01-01

Background Migration from rural areas of India contributes to urbanisation and may increase the risk of obesity and diabetes. We tested the hypotheses that rural-to-urban migrants have a higher prevalence of obesity and diabetes than rural nonmigrants, that migrants would have an intermediate prevalence of obesity and diabetes compared with life-long urban and rural dwellers, and that longer time since migration would be associated with a higher prevalence of obesity and of diabetes. Methods and Findings The place of origin of people working in factories in north, central, and south India was identified. Migrants of rural origin, their rural dwelling sibs, and those of urban origin together with their urban dwelling sibs were assessed by interview, examination, and fasting blood samples. Obesity, diabetes, and other cardiovascular risk factors were compared. A total of 6,510 participants (42% women) were recruited. Among urban, migrant, and rural men the age- and factory-adjusted percentages classified as obese (body mass index [BMI] >25 kg/m2) were 41.9% (95% confidence interval [CI] 39.1–44.7), 37.8% (95% CI 35.0–40.6), and 19.0% (95% CI 17.0–21.0), respectively, and as diabetic were 13.5% (95% CI 11.6–15.4), 14.3% (95% CI 12.2–16.4), and 6.2% (95% CI 5.0–7.4), respectively. Findings for women showed similar patterns. Rural men had lower blood pressure, lipids, and fasting blood glucose than urban and migrant men, whereas no differences were seen in women. Among migrant men, but not women, there was weak evidence for a lower prevalence of both diabetes and obesity among more recent (≤10 y) migrants. Conclusions Migration into urban areas is associated with increases in obesity, which drive other risk factor changes. Migrants have adopted modes of life that put them at similar risk to the urban population. Gender differences in some risk factors by place of origin are unexpected and require further exploration. Please see later in the article for the Editors' Summary PMID:20436961

Genetic hemoglobin disorders rather than iron deficiency are a major predictor of hemoglobin concentration in women of reproductive age in rural prey Veng, Cambodia.

PubMed

Karakochuk, Crystal D; Whitfield, Kyly C; Barr, Susan I; Lamers, Yvonne; Devlin, Angela M; Vercauteren, Suzanne M; Kroeun, Hou; Talukder, Aminuzzaman; McLean, Judy; Green, Timothy J

2015-01-01

Anemia is common in Cambodian women. Potential causes include micronutrient deficiencies, genetic hemoglobin disorders, inflammation, and disease. We aimed to investigate factors associated with anemia (low hemoglobin concentration) in rural Cambodian women (18-45 y) and to investigate the relations between hemoglobin disorders and other iron biomarkers. Blood samples were obtained from 450 women. A complete blood count was conducted, and serum and plasma were analyzed for ferritin, soluble transferrin receptor (sTfR), folate, vitamin B-12, retinol binding protein (RBP), C-reactive protein (CRP), and α1 acid glycoprotein (AGP). Hemoglobin electrophoresis and multiplex polymerase chain reaction were used to determine the prevalence and type of genetic hemoglobin disorders. Overall, 54% of women had a genetic hemoglobin disorder, which included 25 different genotypes (most commonly, hemoglobin E variants and α(3.7)-thalassemia). Of the 420 nonpregnant women, 29.5% had anemia (hemoglobin <120 g/L), 2% had depleted iron stores (ferritin <15 μg/L), 19% had tissue iron deficiency (sTfR >8.3 mg/L), <3% had folate deficiency (<3 μg/L), and 1% had vitamin B-12 deficiency (<150 pmol/L). Prevalences of iron deficiency anemia (IDA) were 14.2% and 1.5% in those with and without hemoglobin disorders, respectively. There was no biochemical evidence of vitamin A deficiency (RBP <0.7 μmol/L). Acute and chronic inflammation were prevalent among 8% (CRP >5 mg/L) and 26% (AGP >1 g/L) of nonpregnant women, respectively. By using an adjusted linear regression model, the strongest predictors of hemoglobin concentration were hemoglobin E homozygous disorder and pregnancy status. Other predictors were 2 other heterozygous traits (hemoglobin E and Constant Spring), parity, RBP, log ferritin, and vitamin B-12. Multiple biomarkers for anemia and iron deficiency were significantly influenced by the presence of hemoglobin disorders, hence reducing their diagnostic sensitivity. Further investigation of the unexpectedly low prevalence of IDA in Cambodian women is warranted. © 2015 American Society for Nutrition.

The effect of rural-to-urban migration on obesity and diabetes in India: a cross-sectional study.

PubMed

Ebrahim, Shah; Kinra, Sanjay; Bowen, Liza; Andersen, Elizabeth; Ben-Shlomo, Yoav; Lyngdoh, Tanica; Ramakrishnan, Lakshmy; Ahuja, R C; Joshi, Prashant; Das, S Mohan; Mohan, Murali; Davey Smith, George; Prabhakaran, Dorairaj; Reddy, K Srinath

2010-04-27

Migration from rural areas of India contributes to urbanisation and may increase the risk of obesity and diabetes. We tested the hypotheses that rural-to-urban migrants have a higher prevalence of obesity and diabetes than rural nonmigrants, that migrants would have an intermediate prevalence of obesity and diabetes compared with life-long urban and rural dwellers, and that longer time since migration would be associated with a higher prevalence of obesity and of diabetes. The place of origin of people working in factories in north, central, and south India was identified. Migrants of rural origin, their rural dwelling sibs, and those of urban origin together with their urban dwelling sibs were assessed by interview, examination, and fasting blood samples. Obesity, diabetes, and other cardiovascular risk factors were compared. A total of 6,510 participants (42% women) were recruited. Among urban, migrant, and rural men the age- and factory-adjusted percentages classified as obese (body mass index [BMI] >25 kg/m(2)) were 41.9% (95% confidence interval [CI] 39.1-44.7), 37.8% (95% CI 35.0-40.6), and 19.0% (95% CI 17.0-21.0), respectively, and as diabetic were 13.5% (95% CI 11.6-15.4), 14.3% (95% CI 12.2-16.4), and 6.2% (95% CI 5.0-7.4), respectively. Findings for women showed similar patterns. Rural men had lower blood pressure, lipids, and fasting blood glucose than urban and migrant men, whereas no differences were seen in women. Among migrant men, but not women, there was weak evidence for a lower prevalence of both diabetes and obesity among more recent (

Low target prevalence is a stubborn source of errors in visual search tasks

PubMed Central

Wolfe, Jeremy M.; Horowitz, Todd S.; Van Wert, Michael J.; Kenner, Naomi M.; Place, Skyler S.; Kibbi, Nour

2009-01-01

In visual search tasks, observers look for targets in displays containing distractors. Likelihood that targets will be missed varies with target prevalence, the frequency with which targets are presented across trials. Miss error rates are much higher at low target prevalence (1–2%) than at high prevalence (50%). Unfortunately, low prevalence is characteristic of important search tasks like airport security and medical screening where miss errors are dangerous. A series of experiments show this prevalence effect is very robust. In signal detection terms, the prevalence effect can be explained as a criterion shift and not a change in sensitivity. Several efforts to induce observers to adopt a better criterion fail. However, a regime of brief retraining periods with high prevalence and full feedback allows observers to hold a good criterion during periods of low prevalence with no feedback. PMID:17999575

Incidence, Risk Factors, and Analysis of Survival of Unexpected N2 Disease in Stage I Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.

PubMed

Fiorelli, Alfonso; Sagan, Dariusz; Mackiewicz, Lukasz; Cagini, Lucio; Scarnecchia, Elisa; Chiodini, Paolo; Caronia, Francesco Paolo; Puma, Francesco; Santini, Mario; Ragusa, Mark

2015-10-01

To evaluate the incidence, predictors, and survival of unexpected pN2 disease in patients with clinical stage I non-small cell lung cancer. This is a retrospective observational multicenter study on all consecutive patients operated for clinical stage I non-small cell lung cancer from January 2006 to December 2012. Medical records were reviewed to investigate the incidence and risk factors for unexpected pN2 disease. Then, the survival of patients with unexpected pN2 disease was statistically compared with that of patients with clinical N2 disease operated after induction therapy in the same period. Our study population counted 901 patients. An incidence of 12% (108/901) unexpected pN2 disease was found. Among 3,389 lymph nodes sampled, 124 distinct metastases were found. Of the 108 patients, 92 (85%) had metastases in single N2 station and 16 (15%) patients had disease in multiple N2 stations; 47 (44%) had pN2 disease without pN1 involvement (skip metastases) and 61/108 (56%) had also pN1 metastases. Factors associated with unexpected pN2 disease were central tumor location (p < 0.003), cT2a (p < 0.0001) and pT2a stage (p < 0.0001), pN1 disease (p = 0.004), and a standard uptake value > 4.0 (0.007). Patients with pN2 disease compared with patients with cN2 disease presented a better median overall survival (56 versus 20 months; p = 0.001) and disease-free survival (46 versus 11 months; p < 0.0001). The preoperative effort to discover unexpected pN2 disease in patients with clinical stage I non-small cell lung cancer is not justified, considering their good survival. Thus, preoperative invasive mediastinal procedures in such cases are not indicated. Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Mammalian play: training for the unexpected.

PubMed

Spinka, M; Newberry, R C; Bekoff, M

2001-06-01

In this review, we present a new conceptual framework for the study of play behavior, a hitherto puzzling array of seemingly purposeless and unrelated behavioral elements that are recognizable as play throughout the mammalian lineage. Our major new functional hypothesis is that play enables animals to develop flexible kinematic and emotional responses to unexpected events in which they experience a sudden loss of control. Specifically, we propose that play functions to increase the versatility of movements used to recover from sudden shocks such as loss of balance and falling over, and to enhance the ability of animals to cope emotionally with unexpected stressful situations. To obtain this "training for the unexpected," we suggest that animals actively seek and create unexpected situations in play through self-handicapping; that is, deliberately relaxing control over their movements or actively putting themselves into disadvantageous positions and situations. Thus, play is comprised of sequences in which the players switch rapidly between well-controlled movements similar to those used in "serious" behavior and self-handicapping movements that result in temporary loss of control. We propose that this playful switching between in-control and out-of-control elements is cognitively demanding, setting phylogenetic and ontogenetic constraints on play, and is underlain by neuroendocrinological responses that produce a complex emotional state known as "having fun." Furthermore, we propose that play is often prompted by relatively novel or unpredictable stimuli, and is thus related to, although distinct from, exploration. We present 24 predictions that arise from our new theoretical framework, examining the extent to which they are supported by the existing empirical evidence and contrasting them with the predictions of four major alternative hypotheses about play. We argue that our "training for the unexpected" hypothesis can account for some previously puzzling kinematic, structural, motivational, emotional, cognitive, social, ontogenetic, and phylogenetic aspects of play. It may also account for a diversity of individual methods for coping with unexpected misfortunes.

Prevalence of persistent cough and phlegm in young adults in relation to long-term ambient sulfur oxide exposure

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chapman, R.S.; Calafiore, D.C.; Hasselblad, V.

1985-01-01

In early 1976, a survey of persistent co gh and plegma (PCP) prevalence was conducted in 5623 young adults in four Utah communities. Over the previous five years, community specific mean sulfur dioxide levels had been 11, 18, 36, and 115 ug/mT. Corresponding mean suspended sulfate levels had been 5, 7, 8, and 14 g/mT No intercommunity exposure gradient of total suspended particulates or suspended nitrates was observed. In mothers, PCP prevalence among non-smokers was 4.2% in the high-exposure community and about 2.0% in all other communities. In smoking mothers, PCP prevalence was 21.8% in the high-exposure community and aboutmore » 15.0% elsewhere. In fathers, PCP prevalence among non-smokers was about 8.0% in the high-exposure community and averaged about 3.0% elsewhere. In smoking fathers, PCP prevalence was less strongly associated with sulfur oxide exposure. PCP prevalence rates estimated in a categorical logistic regression model were qualitatively consistent with the prevalences presented above.« less

Myopia and international educational performance.

PubMed

Morgan, Ian G; Rose, Kathryn A

2013-05-01

To analyse the relationship between myopia, educational performance and engagement in after-school tutorial classes. Educational performance data and data on engagement in after-school tutorial classes were taken from the results of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Program in Secondary Assessment (PISA) reports for 2009, which tested educational outcomes in representative samples of 15 year-old school children from 65 jurisdictions. High prevalence of myopia (>70%) and low prevalence of myopia (<40%) locations were identified by systematic literature search. Six locations with a high prevalence of myopia were identified from among the participants in PISA 2009 - Shanghai-China, Hong Kong-China, Taiwan, Singapore, Japan and South Korea. All were ranked in the top quartile on educational performance. Other participants in the top educational performance quartile were identified as locations with a low prevalence of myopia, including Australia and Finland. The locations with a high prevalence of myopia combined high educational performance and high engagement in after-school tutorials, whereas the locations with a low prevalence of myopia combined high educational performance with little engagement in tutorials. These results show that it is possible to achieve high educational outcomes without extensive engagement in after-school tutorials, and that the combination of high educational outcomes with extensive use of tutorials is associated with high prevalence rates of myopia. We suggest that extensive use of after-school tutorials may be a marker of educational environments which impose high educational loads. Further quantification of educational loads to include after- school educational activities, such as homework, tutorials and other after-school classes, as well as formal school classes, is desirable. Policy initiatives to decrease these loads may contribute to the prevention of myopia, perhaps, at least in part, by enabling children to spend more time outdoors. Ophthalmic & Physiological Optics © 2013 The College of Optometrists.

High adiposity and high body mass index–for-age in US children and adolescents overall and by race-ethnic group123

PubMed Central

Ogden, Cynthia L; Yanovski, Jack A; Freedman, David S; Shepherd, John A; Graubard, Barry I; Borrud, Lori G

2010-01-01

Background: Body mass index (BMI)–for-age has been recommended as a screening test for excess adiposity in children and adolescents. Objective: We quantified the performance of standard categories of BMI-for-age relative to the population prevalence of high adiposity in children and adolescents overall and by race-ethnic group in a nationally representative US population sample by using definitions of high adiposity that are consistent with expert committee recommendations. Design: Percentage body fat in 8821 children and adolescents aged 8–19 y was measured by using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry in 1999–2004 as part of a health examination survey. Results: With the use of several different cutoffs for percentage fat to define high adiposity, most children with high BMI-for-age (≥95th percentile of the growth charts) had high adiposity, and few children with normal BMI-for-age (<85th percentile) had high adiposity. The prevalence of high adiposity in intermediate BMI categories varied from 45% to 15% depending on the cutoff. The prevalence of a high BMI was significantly higher in non-Hispanic black girls than in non-Hispanic white girls, but the prevalence of high adiposity was not significantly different. Conclusions: Current BMI cutoffs can identify a high prevalence of high adiposity in children with high BMI-for-age and a low prevalence of high adiposity in children with normal BMI-for-age. By these adiposity measures, less than one-half of children with intermediate BMIs-for-age (85th to <95th percentile) have high adiposity. Differences in high BMI ranges between race-ethnic groups do not necessarily indicate differences in high adiposity. PMID:20164313

Executive working memory load induces inattentional blindness.

PubMed

Fougnie, Daryl; Marois, René

2007-02-01

When attention is engaged in a task, unexpected events in the visual scene may go undetected, a phenomenon known as inattentional blindness (IB). At what stage of information processing must attention be engaged for IB to occur? Although manipulations that tax visuospatial attention can induce IB, the evidence is more equivocal for tasks that engage attention at late, central stages of information processing. Here, we tested whether IB can be specifically induced by central executive processes. An unexpected visual stimulus was presented during the retention interval of a working memory task that involved either simply maintaining verbal material or rearranging the material into alphabetical order. The unexpected stimulus was more likely to be missed during manipulation than during simple maintenance of the verbal information. Thus, the engagement of executive processes impairs the ability to detect unexpected, task-irrelevant stimuli, suggesting that IB can result from central, amodal stages of processing.

Hepatic Hemangioendothelioma Presenting as Sudden Unexpected Death in Infancy: A Case Report

PubMed Central

Dempers, Johan; Wadee, Shabbir Ahmed; Boyd, Theonia; Wright, Colleen; OdendaaL, Hein J; Sens, Mary Ann

2014-01-01

The classification of an unexpected infant death as the sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) depends upon a complete autopsy, death scene investigation and review of medical history to exclude known causes of death. Death from occult neoplastic disease in infancy is extremely rare but is within the broad differential of SIDS. We report the sudden and unexpected death of a one-month-old infant from a hepatic (infantile) hemangioendothelioma. The physiologic mechanism of death was likely cardiac failure induced by the circulatory demands of this large vascular tumor and respiratory compromise from diaphragmatic thoracic incursion. The clinical progression and pathology of these relatively common tumors of infant livers are extremely variable. This case dramatically illustrates the potential for fatal outcome of this tumor, as well as the need for the autopsy to determine the cause of sudden and unexpected death in an infant PMID:20465426

Prevalence of hepatitis C virus infection among high-risk groups in Iran: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

PubMed

Nematollahi, S; Ayubi, E; Almasi-Hashiani, A; Mansori, K; Moradi, Y; Veisani, Y; Jenabi, E; Gholamaliei, B; Khazaei, S

2018-06-20

Determination of the true burden of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection among high-risk groups relies heavily on occurrence measures such as prevalence, which are vital for implementation of preventive action plans. Nevertheless, up-to-date data on the prevalence of HCV infection remain scarce in Iran. This study aimed to review the relevant literature systematically and determine the pooled prevalence of HCV infection among high-risk groups in Iran. Systematic review & meta-analysis. In 2016, electronic scientific databases including PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science and local databases were searched using a detailed search strategy with language restricted to English and Farsi. The reference lists of the studies included in this review were also screened. Data were reviewed and extracted independently by two authors. A random effects model was used to estimate the pooled prevalence. Sources of heterogeneity among the studies were determined using subgroup analysis and meta-regression. In total, 1817 records were identified in the initial search, and 46 records were included in the meta-analysis. The overall prevalence of HCV among high-risk groups was 32.3%. The prevalence was 41.3% in injection drug users (IDUs), 22.9% in prisoners, 16.2% in drug-dependent individuals and 24.6% in drug-dependent prisoners. Subgroup and meta-regression analyses revealed that geographical location and year of publication were the probable sources of heterogeneity. This meta-analysis found a high prevalence of HCV among high-risk groups in Iran, particularly among IDUs. There is a need for prevention strategies to reduce the burden of HCV infection among high-risk groups, particularly IDUs. Copyright © 2018 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Lung tumors with distinct p53 mutations respond similarly to p53 targeted therapy but exhibit genotype-specific statin sensitivity

PubMed Central

Turrell, Frances K.; Kerr, Emma M.; Gao, Meiling; Thorpe, Hannah; Doherty, Gary J.; Cridge, Jake; Shorthouse, David; Speed, Alyson; Samarajiwa, Shamith; Hall, Benjamin A.; Griffiths, Meryl; Martins, Carla P.

2017-01-01

Lung adenocarcinoma accounts for ∼40% of lung cancers, the leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide, and current therapies provide only limited survival benefit. Approximately half of lung adenocarcinomas harbor mutations in TP53 (p53), making these mutants appealing targets for lung cancer therapy. As mutant p53 remains untargetable, mutant p53-dependent phenotypes represent alternative targeting opportunities, but the prevalence and therapeutic relevance of such effects (gain of function and dominant-negative activity) in lung adenocarcinoma are unclear. Through transcriptional and functional analysis of murine KrasG12D-p53null, -p53R172H (conformational), and -p53R270H (contact) mutant lung tumors, we identified genotype-independent and genotype-dependent therapeutic sensitivities. Unexpectedly, we found that wild-type p53 exerts a dominant tumor-suppressive effect on mutant tumors, as all genotypes were similarly sensitive to its restoration in vivo. These data show that the potential of p53 targeted therapies is comparable across all p53-deficient genotypes and may explain the high incidence of p53 loss of heterozygosity in mutant tumors. In contrast, mutant p53 gain of function and their associated vulnerabilities can vary according to mutation type. Notably, we identified a p53R270H-specific sensitivity to simvastatin in lung tumors, and the transcriptional signature that underlies this sensitivity was also present in human lung tumors, indicating that this therapeutic approach may be clinically relevant. PMID:28790158

Safe Sleep Infant Care Practices Reported by Mothers of Twins.

PubMed

Damato, Elizabeth G; Haas, Madeline C; Czeck, Pamela; Dowling, Donna A; Barsman, Sarah Gutin

2016-12-01

The high prevalence of prematurity and low birth-weight places twin infants at increased risk for sudden unexpected infant death (SUID) and/or sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Risk for these SUID and SIDS is affected by a combination of nonmodifiable intrinsic risk factors and modifiable extrinsic stressors including infant care practices related to sleep. Although adherence to the full scope of American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) 2011 recommendations is intended to decrease risk, these recommendations are aimed at singleton infants and may require tailoring for families with multiple infants. The study describes infant care practices reported by mothers of twins in the first 6 months postpartum. Mothers caring for twin infants (N = 35) were surveyed online both longitudinally (at 2, 8, 16, and 24 weeks after infant hospital discharge) and cross-sectionally. AAP recommendations (2011) guided survey content. The degree of adherence to AAP recommendations varied over time. For example, mothers of twins reported 100% adherence to placing twins supine for sleep initially, but many reported putting babies on their stomachs for naps as twins became older. Sharing a parent's bedroom decreased over time as did frequency of crib sharing. Fewer than half of mothers offered a pacifier most or all of the time for sleep. Opportunities exist for development of an educational program geared specifically for postpartum parents of twins. Barriers affecting adherence to AAP recommendations and effectiveness of educational programs addressing needs of this unique population need further exploration.

Genomic makeup of the marine flavobacterium Nonlabens (Donghaeana) dokdonensis and identification of a novel class of rhodopsins.

PubMed

Kwon, Soon-Kyeong; Kim, Byung Kwon; Song, Ju Yeon; Kwak, Min-Jung; Lee, Choong Hoon; Yoon, Jung-Hoon; Oh, Tae Kwang; Kim, Jihyun F

2013-01-01

Rhodopsin-containing marine microbes such as those in the class Flavobacteriia play a pivotal role in the biogeochemical cycle of the euphotic zone (Fuhrman JA, Schwalbach MS, Stingl U. 2008. Proteorhodopsins: an array of physiological roles? Nat Rev Microbiol. 6:488-494). Deciphering the genome information of flavobacteria and accessing the diversity and ecological impact of microbial rhodopsins are important in understanding and preserving the global ecosystems. The genome sequence of the orange-pigmented marine flavobacterium Nonlabens dokdonensis (basonym: Donghaeana dokdonensis) DSW-6 was determined. As a marine photoheterotroph, DSW-6 has written in its genome physiological features that allow survival in the oligotrophic environments. The sequence analysis also uncovered a gene encoding an unexpected type of microbial rhodopsin containing a unique motif in addition to a proteorhodopsin gene and a number of photolyase or cryptochrome genes. Homologs of the novel rhodopsin gene were found in other flavobacteria, alphaproteobacteria, a species of Cytophagia, a deinococcus, and even a eukaryote diatom. They all contain the characteristic NQ motif and form a phylogenetically distinct group. Expression analysis of this rhodopsin gene in DSW-6 indicated that it is induced at high NaCl concentrations, as well as in the presence of light and the absence of nutrients. Genomic and metagenomic surveys demonstrate the diversity of the NQ rhodopsins in nature and the prevalent occurrence of the encoding genes among microbial communities inhabiting hypersaline niches, suggesting its involvement in sodium metabolism and the sodium-adapted lifestyle.

Patent foramen ovale influences the presentation of decompression illness in SCUBA divers.

PubMed

Liou, Kevin; Wolfers, Darren; Turner, Robert; Bennett, Michael; Allan, Roger; Jepson, Nigel; Cranney, Greg

2015-01-01

Few have examined the influence of patent foramen ovale (PFO) on the phenotype of decompression illness (DCI) in affected divers. A retrospective review of our database was performed for 75 SCUBA divers over a 10-year period. Overall 4,945 bubble studies were performed at our institution during the study period. Divers with DCI were more likely to have positive bubble studies than other indications (p<0.001). Major DCI was observed significantly more commonly in divers with PFO than those without (18/1,000 v.s. 3/1,000, p=0.02). Divers affected by DCI were also more likely to require a longer course of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) if PFO was present (p=0.038). If the patient experienced one or more major DCI symptoms, the odds ratio of PFO being present on a transoesophageal echocardiogram was 3.2 (p=0.02) compared to those who reported no major DCI symptoms. PFO is highly prevalent in selected SCUBA divers with DCI, and is associated with a more severe DCI phenotype and longer duration of HBOT. Patients with unexpected DCI with one or more major DCI symptoms should be offered PFO screening if they choose to continue diving, as it may have considerable prognostic and therapeutic implications. Copyright © 2014 Australian and New Zealand Society of Cardiac and Thoracic Surgeons (ANZSCTS) and the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand (CSANZ). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Cultivating a Trauma Awareness Culture in the Addictions.

PubMed

Missouridou, Evdokia

2017-01-01

Research evidence points to the high prevalence of trauma exposure and post traumatic stress among addicted individuals, their families and the professionals responsible for their treatment. The purpose of this review is to enhance understanding of the continuing effects of trauma and its impact on the lives of people with addiction problems as well as on the professionals who strive to provide support and care for them. Review of twenty eight articles on traumatic experiences in individuals and families facing addiction problems as well as on traumatic stress in addiction professionals. Eligibility criteria were: publication in a peer-reviewed journal dating from 1990 to present; articles written in the English language; quantitative or qualitative design aiming to explore the lived experience of trauma and the recovery process from it. It is argued that for service providers to be able to help patients restore purpose and meaning in the recovery process, it is important to be aware of the trauma dynamics implicated in the long history of the addiction problems. Professionals' difficulty to process their emotions may lead to disengagement or overinvolvement and the adoption of maladaptive roles. Strong and unexpected emotional reactions in the professional may be a clue to the presence of masked trauma. Ongoing training on trauma dynamics, self-care and clinical supervision may deepen professionals' understanding of the impact of trauma on their work culture and protect them from the risk of secondary traumatic stress. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

A descriptive social and health profile of a community sample of adults and adolescents with Asperger syndrome

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background Little is known about the health and social profile of adolescents and adults with Asperger syndrome (AS) living in the community. We conducted a study to describe the living, employment and psycho-social situation of a community sample of forty two adults and adolescents with AS, and to describe these indivdiuals' experiences of accessing health services and taking medication. Findings Most respondents (including those over eighteen years of age) lived at home with their parents. Most had trouble reading and responding to other people's feelings, and coping with unexpected changes. Difficulties with life skills, such as cleaning, washing and hygiene were prevalent. The majority of respondents were socially isolated and a large minority had been sexually or financially exploited. Almost all respondents had been bullied. Mental health problems such as anxiety or depression were common. 30% of respondents said that they regularly became violent and hit other people and 15% had attempted suicide. More positively, the majority of respondents felt that they could access health services if they had a health problem. Conclusions The results of this study suggest a relatively poor social and health profile for many people with Asperger syndrome living in the community, with high levels of social problems and social exclusion, and difficulties managing day to day tasks such as washing and cleaning; these findings support the results of other studies that have examined psycho-social functioning in this group. PMID:21070680

Monoclonal B-cell lymphocytosis in healthy blood donors: an unexpectedly common finding

PubMed Central

Rachel, Jane M.; Ghia, Paolo; Boren, Jeff; Abbasi, Fatima; Dagklis, Antonis; Venable, Geri; Kang, Jiyeon; Degheidy, Heba; Plapp, Fred V.; Vogt, Robert F.; Menitove, Jay E.; Marti, Gerald E.

2014-01-01

Circulating monoclonal B cells may be detected in healthy adults, a condition called monoclonal B-cell lymphocytosis (MBL). MBL has also been identified in donated blood, but no systematic study of blood donors has been reported. Using sensitive and specific laboratory methods, we detected MBL in 149 (7.1%; 95% confidence interval, 6.0% to 8.3%) of 2098 unique donors ages 45 years or older in a Midwestern US regional blood center between 2010 and 2011. Most of the 149 donors had low-count MBL, including 99 chronic lymphocytic leukemia–like (66.4%), 22 atypical (14.8%), and 19 CD5– (12.8%) immunophenotypes. However, 5 donors (3.4%) had B-cell clonal counts above 500 cells per µL, including 3 with 1693 to 2887 cells per µL; the clone accounted for nearly all their circulating B cells. Four donors (2.7%) had 2 distinct MBL clones. Of 51 MBL samples in which immunoglobulin heavy chain (IGH)V-D-J genotypes could be determined, 71% and 29% used IGHV3- and IGHV4-family genes, respectively. Sequencing revealed 82% with somatic hypermutation, whereas 18% had >98% germ-line identity, including 5 with entirely germ-line sequences. In conclusion, MBL prevalence is much higher in blood donors than previously reported, and although uncommon, the presence of high-count MBL warrants further investigations to define the biological fate of the transfused cells in recipients. PMID:24345750

Evidence for Context-Dependent Complementarity of Non-Shine-Dalgarno Ribosome Binding Sites to Escherichia coli rRNA

PubMed Central

Barendt, Pamela A.; Shah, Najaf A.; Barendt, Gregory A.; Kothari, Parth A.; Sarkar, Casim A.

2013-01-01

While the ribosome has evolved to function in complex intracellular environments, these contexts do not easily allow for the study of its inherent capabilities. We have used a synthetic, well-defined, Escherichia coli (E. coli)-based translation system in conjunction with ribosome display, a powerful in vitro selection method, to identify ribosome binding sites (RBSs) that can promote the efficient translation of messenger RNAs (mRNAs) with a leader length representative of natural E. coli mRNAs. In previous work, we used a longer leader sequence and unexpectedly recovered highly efficient cytosine-rich sequences with complementarity to the 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) and similarity to eukaryotic RBSs. In the current study, Shine-Dalgarno (SD) sequences were prevalent but non-SD sequences were also heavily enriched and were dominated by novel guanine- and uracil-rich motifs which showed statistically significant complementarity to the 16S rRNA. Additionally, only SD motifs exhibited position-dependent decreases in sequence entropy, indicating that non-SD motifs likely operate by increasing the local concentration of ribosomes in the vicinity of the start codon, rather than by a position-dependent mechanism. These results further support the putative generality of mRNA-rRNA complementarity in facilitating mRNA translation, but also suggest that context (e.g., leader length and composition) dictates the specific subset of possible RBSs that are used for efficient translation of a given transcript. PMID:23427812

Ventilation via Cut Nasotracheal Tube During General Anesthesia

PubMed Central

Asahi, Yoshinao; Omichi, Shiro; Adachi, Seita; Kagamiuchi, Hajime; Kotani, Junichiro

2013-01-01

Many patients with disabilities need recurrent dental treatment under general anesthesia because of high caries prevalence and the nature of dental treatment. We evaluated the use of a nasal device as a possible substitute for flexible laryngeal mask airway to reduce the risk of unexpected failure accompanying intubation; we succeeded in ventilating the lungs with a cut nasotracheal tube (CNT) with its tip placed in the pharynx. We hypothesized that this technique would be useful during dental treatment under general anesthesia and investigated its usefulness as part of a minimally invasive technique. A prospective study was designed using general anesthesia in 37 dental patients with disabilities such as intellectual impairment, autism, and cerebral palsy. CNT ventilation was compared with mask ventilation with the patient in 3 positions: the neck in flexion, horizontal position, and in extension. The effect of mouth gags was also recorded during CNT ventilation. The percentages of cases with effective ventilation were similar for the 2 techniques in the neck extension and horizontal positions (89.2–97.3%). However, CNT ventilation was significantly more effective than mask ventilation in the neck flexion position (94.6 vs 45.9%; P < .0001). Mouth gags slightly reduced the rate of effective ventilation in the neck flexion position. Most dental treatments involving minor oral surgeries were performed using mouth gags during CNT ventilation. CNT ventilation was shown to be superior to mask ventilation and is useful during dental treatment under general anesthesia. PMID:23506278

Assessing the Risk of Occult Cancer and 30-day Morbidity in Women Undergoing Risk-reducing Surgery: A Prospective Experience.

PubMed

Bogani, Giorgio; Tagliabue, Elena; Signorelli, Mauro; Chiappa, Valentina; Carcangiu, Maria Luisa; Paolini, Biagio; Casarin, Jvan; Scaffa, Cono; Gennaro, Massimiliano; Martinelli, Fabio; Borghi, Chiara; Ditto, Antonino; Lorusso, Domenica; Raspagliesi, Francesco

To investigate the incidence and predictive factors of 30-day surgery-related morbidity and occult precancerous and cancerous conditions for women undergoing risk-reducing surgery. A prospective study (Canadian Task Force classification II-1). A gynecologic oncology referral center. Breast-related cancer antigen (BRCA) mutation carriers and BRCAX patients (those with a significant family history of breast and ovarian cancer). Minimally invasive risk-reduction surgery. Overall, 85 women underwent risk-reducing surgery: 30 (35%) and 55 (65%) had hysterectomy plus bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy (BSO) and BSO alone, respectively. Overall, in 6 (7%) patients, the final pathology revealed unexpected cancer: 3 early-stage ovarian/fallopian tube cancers, 2 advanced-stage ovarian cancers (stage IIIA and IIIB), and 1 serous endometrial carcinoma. Additionally, 3 (3.6%) patients had incidental finding of serous tubal intraepithelial carcinoma. Four (4.7%) postoperative complications within 30 days from surgery were registered, including fever (n = 3) and postoperative ileus (n = 1); no severe (grade 3 or more) complications were observed. All complications were managed conservatively. The presence of occult cancer was the only factor predicting the development of postoperative complications (p = .02). Minimally invasive risk-reducing surgery is a safe and effective strategy to manage BRCA mutation carriers. Patients should benefit from an appropriate counseling about the high prevalence of undiagnosed cancers observed at the time of surgery. Copyright © 2017 AAGL. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Precision medicine in heritable cancer: when somatic tumour testing and germline mutations meet.

PubMed

Ngeow, Joanne; Eng, Charis

2016-01-01

Cancer is among the leading causes of death and disfigurement worldwide with an estimated global incidence of 14 million and ~8.2 million cancer-related deaths per annum. An estimated 5-10% of all cancers are hereditary, meaning a single gene mutation contributed to development of the cancer. In other words, inherited cancer has a worldwide incidence of ~1.4 million new cases per annum and a global prevalence of 300 million, and are often poorly recognised. The increase in genetic sequencing capability combined with the decrease in the cost of testing has altered both regulatory policy and clinical oncology practice Well-known examples of clinically important cancer susceptibility syndromes such as those caused by genetic mutations in highly penetrant genes such as BRCA1/2 hereditary breast-ovarian cancer syndrome genes have provided the framework for the practice of clinical cancer genetics. There is no question that these tests have provided clinical benefit to the patient and her/his family. However, with the expanding role of next generation sequencing in tumour profiling as well as in germline testing, clinicians are now faced with significant new challenges and potentially unexpected opportunities. Issues such as determining how best to deal with gene variants of uncertain clinical significance and the issue of incidental findings of hereditary cancer risk may be encountered during tumour genomic testing will require a concerted effort and dialogue on the part of the broad genomic community.

Plasmon-mediated circularly polarized luminescence of GaAs in a scanning tunneling microscope

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mühlenberend, Svenja; Gruyters, Markus; Berndt, Richard, E-mail: berndt@physik.uni-kiel.de

2015-12-14

The electroluminescence from p-type GaAs(110) in a scanning tunneling microscope has been investigated at 6 K. Unexpectedly, high degrees of circular polarization have often been observed with ferromagnetic Ni tips and also with paramagnetic W and Ag tips. The data are interpreted in terms of two distinct excitation mechanisms. Electron injection generates intense luminescence with low polarization. Plasmon-mediated generation of electron-hole pairs leads to less intense emission, which, however, is highly polarized for many tips.

Characterization of Clinically Attenuated Burkholderia mallei by Whole-Genome Sequencing: Candidate Strain for Exclusion from Select Agent Lists

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-04-01

symptoms may have been related to endotoxin . Clinical signs in the ponies and the mule were either minimal (fever) or nonexistent. All 6 equids produced ...ponies, 1 mule, 1 donkey), natural hosts, for purposes of producing antibodies. Multiple high inocula were used in some cases. Unexpectedly SAVP1 appeared...that was experimentally infected in 6 equids (4 ponies, 1 mule, 1 donkey), natural hosts, for purposes of producing antibodies. Multiple high inocula

Altitude and COPD prevalence: analysis of the PREPOCOL-PLATINO-BOLD-EPI-SCAN study.

PubMed

Horner, Andreas; Soriano, Joan B; Puhan, Milo A; Studnicka, Michael; Kaiser, Bernhard; Vanfleteren, Lowie E G W; Gnatiuc, Louisa; Burney, Peter; Miravitlles, Marc; García-Rio, Francisco; Ancochea, Julio; Menezes, Ana M; Perez-Padilla, Rogelio; Montes de Oca, Maria; Torres-Duque, Carlos A; Caballero, Andres; González-García, Mauricio; Buist, Sonia; Flamm, Maria; Lamprecht, Bernd

2017-08-23

COPD prevalence is highly variable and geographical altitude has been linked to it, yet with conflicting results. We aimed to investigate this association, considering well known risk factors. A pooled analysis of individual data from the PREPOCOL-PLATINO-BOLD-EPI-SCAN studies was used to disentangle the population effect of geographical altitude on COPD prevalence. Post-bronchodilator FEV1/FVC below the lower limit of normal defined airflow limitation consistent with COPD. High altitude was defined as >1500 m above sea level. Undiagnosed COPD was considered when participants had airflow limitation but did not report a prior diagnosis of COPD. Among 30,874 participants aged 56.1 ± 11.3 years from 44 sites worldwide, 55.8% were women, 49.6% never-smokers, and 12.9% (3978 subjects) were residing above 1500 m. COPD prevalence was significantly lower in participants living at high altitude with a prevalence of 8.5% compared to 9.9%, respectively (p < 0.005). However, known risk factors were significantly less frequent at high altitude. Hence, in the adjusted multivariate analysis, altitude itself had no significant influence on COPD prevalence. Living at high altitude, however, was associated with a significantly increased risk of undiagnosed COPD. Furthermore, subjects with airflow limitation living at high altitude reported significantly less respiratory symptoms compared to subjects residing at lower altitude. Living at high altitude is not associated with a difference in COPD prevalence after accounting for individual risk factors. However, high altitude itself was associated with an increased risk of undiagnosed COPD.

Mathematics and Sciences Course Taking among Arab Students in Israel: A Case of Unexpected Gender Equality.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ayalon, Hanna

2002-01-01

Using multilevel analysis on a sample of academic-track 12th graders in Israel, compared gender inequality in course taking of mathematics and sciences in Arab and Jewish high schools. Findings show gender inequality to be almost nonexistent in Arab schools, but prominent in Jewish schools. Differences are explained by the differences in…

Writing Out of the Unexpected: Narrative Inquiry and the Weight of Small Moments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gordon, Erick; McKibbin, Kerry; Vasudevan, Lalitha; Vinz, Ruth

2007-01-01

In this tale of a single event told from the perspectives of multiple narrators, Erick Gordon, Kerry McKibbin, Lalitha Vasudevan, and Ruth Vinz write about their work together on a Student Press Initiative (SPI) writing project at Horizon Academy, the Department of Correction/Department of Education high school at Rikers Island Jail in New York…

Managing the unexpected in prescribed fire and fire use operations: a workshop on the High Reliability Organization

Treesearch

Paul (tech. ed.) Keller

2004-01-01

Fire management, and forest and rangeland fuels management, over the past century have altered the wildland fire situation dramatically, thus also altering the institutional approach to how to deal with the changing landscape. Also, climate change, extended drought, increased insect and disease outbreaks, and invasions of exotic plant species have added complications...

Unexpected high intragenomic variation in two of three major pest thrips species does not affect ribosomal internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2)utility for thrips identification

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The mitochondrial gene mtCO1 and the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of the ribosomal DNA are among the most widely used molecular markers for insect taxonomic characterization. Three economically important species of thrips, Scirtothrips dorsalis, Thrips palmi, and Frankliniella occidental...

Environmental Assessment: Bird Strike Risk Reduction at Laughlin Air Force Base, Texas

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-01-01

used carbamate general use insecticide with anticholinesterase activity . It however, has the important characteristic of rapid degradation and...Aircrew attention to these activities while at low altitudes often compromises their ability to successfully recover from unexpected wildlife...human activities and the dramatic increase in the population of some highly adaptable species compounds this problem. Experts within the FAA and

Effects of autonomy-supportive and controlling styles on situational self-determined motivation: some unexpected results of the commitment procedure.

PubMed

Amoura, Camille; Berjot, Sophie; Gillet, Nicolas; Caruana, Sylvain; Finez, Lucie

2015-02-01

Distinct and simultaneous effects of autonomy-supportive and controlling styles, usually considered as mutually exclusive, on situational self-determined motivation are tested. In Study 1, economics students (N = 100; 57 men, 43 women; M age = 21.5 yr.) were randomly assigned to one of the four experimental conditions (high vs. low) of autonomy supportive and/or controlling behaviors during a task. Results supported the independence of those constructs. An unexpected effect in regards to Self-determination Theory was found in the Low autonomy - High control condition in which self-determined motivation was observed. The interpretation for this specific condition, an effect due to the attempt to reduce cognitive dissonance triggered by the commitment procedure, was tested. In Study 2, sport students (N = 80, 44 men, 36 women; M age = 19.2 yr.) were randomly assigned to one of the three experimental conditions: No commitment, Commitment plus self-affirmation, and Commitment without self-affirmation. Results supported Study 1's interpretation: motivation was lower when participants were recruited without a commitment procedure or when they were invited to self-affirm than when participants recruited with a commitment procedure.

Unexpectedly high mercury concentration in commercial fish feed

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Choi, H.; Cech, J. Jr.

1995-12-31

Unexpectedly high mercury was found in a commercial fish pellet which has been widely used to feed fish in laboratory and fish farm settings. Researchers working with fish in mercury studies need to know that fish pellets contain mercury and consider the pellets, influence in their results. Mean mercury concentration in the commercial fish pellet was 47.4 ug/g (ranging from 35 to 56 ug Hg/g). Total mercury (T-Hg) in the blood of Sacramento blackfish (orthodon microlepidotus), fed the commercial feed for 8 months, was determined by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Mean blood T-Hg reached a steady state at 41more » ug Hg/L (ranging from 34 to 51 ug Hg/L) during 5 months of feeding after capture from Clear Lake in California. The accumulation of mercury in blood followed a monoexponential pattern, in accordance with a one-compartment model. There were great variations in mercury levels in blood between individual fishes. The mercury concentrations in the blood did not tend to increase with the growth of the fish. In summary, feed sources of mercury need to be considered in mercury exposure experiments.« less

Engineering α-amylase levels in wheat grain suggests a highly sophisticated level of carbohydrate regulation during development

PubMed Central

Whan, Alex; Dielen, Anne-Sophie; Mieog, Jos; Bowerman, Andrew F.; Robinson, Hannah M.; Byrne, Keren; Colgrave, Michelle; Larkin, Philip J.; Howitt, Crispin A.; Morell, Matthew K.; Ral, Jean-Philippe

2014-01-01

Wheat starch degradation requires the synergistic action of different amylolytic enzymes. Our spatio-temporal study of wheat α-amylases throughout grain development shows that AMY3 is the most abundant isoform compared with the other known α-amylases. Endosperm-specific over-expression of AMY3 resulted in an increase of total α-amylase activity in harvested grains. Unexpectedly, increased activity did not have a significant impact on starch content or composition but led to an increase of soluble carbohydrate (mainly sucrose) in dry grain. In AMY3 overexpression lines (A3OE), germination was slightly delayed and triacylglycerol (TAG) content was increased in the endosperm of mature grain. Despite increased AMY3 transcript and protein content throughout grain development, alterations of α-amylase activity and starch granule degradation were not detected until grain maturation, suggesting a post-translational inhibition of α-amylase activity in the endosperm during the starch filling period. These findings show unexpected effects of a high level of α-amylase on grain development and composition, notably in carbon partitioning and TAG accumulation, and suggest the presence of a hitherto unknown regulatory pathway during grain filling. PMID:25053646

Attending to weak signals: the leader's challenge.

PubMed

Kerfoot, Karlene

2005-12-01

Halverson and Isham (2003) quote sources that report the accidental death rate of simply being in a hospital is " ... four hundred times more likely than your risk of death from traveling by train, forty times higher than driving a car, and twenty times higher than flying in a commercial aircraft" (p. 13). High-reliability organizations such as nuclear power plants and aircraft carriers have been pioneers in the business of recognizing weak signals. Weike and Sutcliffe (2001) note that high-reliability organizations distinguish themselves from others because of their mindfulness which enables them to see the significance of weak signals and to give strong interventions to weak signals. To act mindfully, these organizations have an underlying mental model of continually updating, anticipating, and focusing the possibility of failure using the intelligence that weak signals provides. Much of what happens is unexpected in health care. However, with a culture that is continually looking for weak signals, and intervenes and rescues when these signals are detected, the unexpected happens less often. This is the epitome of how leaders can build a culture of safety that focuses on recognizing the weak signals to manage the unforeseen.

Attending to weak signals: the leader's challenge.

PubMed

Kerfoot, Karlene

2004-01-01

Halverson and Isham (2003) quote sources that report the accidental death rate of simply being in a hospital is "... four hundred times more likely than your risk of death from traveling by train, forty times higher than driving a car, and twenty times higher than flying in a commercial aircraft" (p. 13). High-reliability organizations such as nuclear power plants and aircraft carriers have been pioneers in the business of recognizing weak signals. Weike and Sutcliffe (2001) note that high-reliability organizations distinguish themselves from others because of their mindfulness which enables them to see the significance of weak signals and to give strong interventions to weak signals. To act mindfully, these organizations have an underlying mental model of continually updating, anticipating, and focusing the possibility of failure using the intelligence that weak signals provides. Much of what happens is unexpected in health care. However, with a culture that is continually looking for weak signals, and intervenes and rescues when these signals are detected, the unexpected happens less often. This is the epitome of how leaders can build a culture of safety that focuses on recognizing the weak signals to manage the unforeseen.

Attending to weak signals: the leader's challenge.

PubMed

Kerfoot, Karlene

2003-01-01

Halverson and Isham (2003) quote sources that report the accidental death rate of simply being in a hospital is "...four hundred times more likely than your risk of death from traveling by train, forty times higher than driving a car, and twenty times higher than flying in a commercial aircraft" (p. 13). High-reliability organizations such as nuclear power plants and aircraft carriers have been pioneers in the business of recognizing weak signals. Weike and Sutcliffe (2001) note that high-reliability organizations distinguish themselves from others because of their mindfulness which enables them to see the significance of weak signals and to give strong interventions to weak signals. To act mindfully, these organizations have an underlying mental model of continually updating, anticipating, and focusing the possibility of failure using the intelligence that weak signals provides. Much of what happens is unexpected in health care. However, with a culture that is continually looking for weak signals, and intervenes and rescues when these signals are detected, the unexpected happens less often. This is the epitome of how leaders can build a culture of safety that focuses on recognizing the weak signals to manage the unforeseen.

Prevalence of Refractive Errors among High School Students in Western Iran

PubMed Central

Hashemi, Hassan; Rezvan, Farhad; Beiranvand, Asghar; Papi, Omid-Ali; Hoseini Yazdi, Hosein; Ostadimoghaddam, Hadi; Yekta, Abbas Ali; Norouzirad, Reza; Khabazkhoob, Mehdi

2014-01-01

Purpose To determine the prevalence of refractive errors among high school students. Methods In a cross-sectional study, we applied stratified cluster sampling on high school students of Aligoudarz, Western Iran. Examinations included visual acuity, non-cycloplegic refraction by autorefraction and fine tuning with retinoscopy. Myopia and hyperopia were defined as spherical equivalent of -0.5/+0.5 diopter (D) or worse, respectively; astigmatism was defined as cylindrical error >0.5 D and anisometropia as an interocular difference in spherical equivalent exceeding 1 D. Results Of 451 selected students, 438 participated in the study (response rate, 97.0%). Data from 434 subjects with mean age of 16±1.3 (range, 14 to 21) years including 212 (48.8%) male subjects was analyzed. The prevalence of myopia, hyperopia and astigmatism was 29.3% [95% confidence interval (CI), 25-33.6%], 21.7% (95%CI, 17.8-25.5%), and 20.7% (95%CI, 16.9-24.6%), respectively. The prevalence of myopia increased significantly with age [odds ratio (OR)=1.30, P=0.003] and was higher among boys (OR=3.10, P<0.001). The prevalence of hyperopia was significantly higher in girls (OR=0.49, P=0.003). The prevalence of astigmatism was 25.9% in boys and 15.8% in girls (OR=2.13, P=0.002). The overall prevalence of high myopia and high hyperopia were 0.5% and 1.2%, respectively. The prevalence of with-the-rule, against-the-rule, and oblique astigmatism was 14.5%, 4.8% and 1.4%, respectively. Overall, 4.6% (95%CI, 2.6-6.6%) of subjects were anisometropic. Conclusion More than half of high school students in Aligoudarz had at least one type of refractive error. Compared to similar studies, the prevalence of refractive errors was high in this age group. PMID:25279126

Co-endemicity of Pulmonary Tuberculosis and Intestinal Helminth Infection in the People’s Republic of China

PubMed Central

Li, Xin-Xu; Ren, Zhou-Peng; Wang, Li-Xia; Zhang, Hui; Jiang, Shi-Wen; Chen, Jia-Xu; Wang, Jin-Feng; Zhou, Xiao-Nong

2016-01-01

Both pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) and intestinal helminth infection (IHI) affect millions of individuals every year in China. However, the national-scale estimation of prevalence predictors and prevalence maps for these diseases, as well as co-endemic relative risk (RR) maps of both diseases’ prevalence are not well developed. There are co-endemic, high prevalence areas of both diseases, whose delimitation is essential for devising effective control strategies. Bayesian geostatistical logistic regression models including socio-economic, climatic, geographical and environmental predictors were fitted separately for active PTB and IHI based on data from the national surveys for PTB and major human parasitic diseases that were completed in 2010 and 2004, respectively. Prevalence maps and co-endemic RR maps were constructed for both diseases by means of Bayesian Kriging model and Bayesian shared component model capable of appraising the fraction of variance of spatial RRs shared by both diseases, and those specific for each one, under an assumption that there are unobserved covariates common to both diseases. Our results indicate that gross domestic product (GDP) per capita had a negative association, while rural regions, the arid and polar zones and elevation had positive association with active PTB prevalence; for the IHI prevalence, GDP per capita and distance to water bodies had a negative association, the equatorial and warm zones and the normalized difference vegetation index had a positive association. Moderate to high prevalence of active PTB and low prevalence of IHI were predicted in western regions, low to moderate prevalence of active PTB and low prevalence of IHI were predicted in north-central regions and the southeast coastal regions, and moderate to high prevalence of active PTB and high prevalence of IHI were predicted in the south-western regions. Thus, co-endemic areas of active PTB and IHI were located in the south-western regions of China, which might be determined by socio-economic factors, such as GDP per capita. PMID:27088504