Expression of Extracellular Matrix Proteins in Human Periodontal Ligament Cells During Mineralization In Vitro

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/142249/1/jper0320.pd

Seabird species vary in behavioural response to drone census

This is the final version of the article. Available from the publisher via the DOI in this record.Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) provide an opportunity to rapidly census wildlife in remote areas while removing some of the hazards. However, wildlife may respond negatively to the UAVs, thereby skewing counts. We surveyed four species of Arctic cliff-nesting seabirds (glaucous gull Larus hyperboreus, Iceland gull Larus glaucoides, common murre Uria aalge and thick-billed murre Uria lomvia) using a UAV and compared censusing techniques to ground photography. An average of 8.5% of murres flew off in response to the UAV, but >99% of those birds were non-breeders. We were unable to detect any impact of the UAV on breeding success of murres, except at a site where aerial predators were abundant and several birds lost their eggs to predators following UAV flights. Furthermore, we found little evidence for habituation by murres to the UAV. Most gulls flew off in response to the UAV, but returned to the nest within five minutes. Counts of gull nests and adults were similar between UAV and ground photography, however the UAV detected up to 52.4% more chicks because chicks were camouflaged and invisible to ground observers. UAVs provide a less hazardous and potentially more accurate method for surveying wildlife. We provide some simple recommendations for their use.We thank T. Leonard and the Seabird Ecological Reserves Advisory Committee for permission to work at Witless Bay, the Canadian Wildlife Service for permits to work at Newfoundland and Nunavut and the Government of Nunavut for permits to work in Nunavut. Newfoundland and Labrador Murre Fund, Bird Studies Canada and the Molson Foundation directly funded the work. An NSERC Discovery Grant, the Canada Research Chair in Arctic Ecology and Polar Continental Shelf Project also helped fund the project. We thank T. Burke, G. Sorenson, T. Lazarus and M. Guigueno for their help and J. Nakoolak for keeping us safe from bear

Hear-Communicate-Remember: Feasibility of delivering an integrated intervention for family caregivers of people with dementia and hearing impairment via telehealth

PURPOSE: To evaluate the feasibility of Hear-Communicate-Remember, a training programme developed for family caregivers of people with dementia and hearing impairment that integrated hearing, communication and memory strategies, which was intended to be delivered via telehealth. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Participants included six dyads consisting of adults with dementia and hearing impairment and their family caregivers. Data collection involved a combination of semi-structured interviews, self-report questionnaires and field notes. RESULTS: Analysis of the qualitative interviews revealed four themes: appropriateness of intervention resources, considerations for the delivery of intervention via telehealth, knowledge and application of intervention strategies, and impact of the intervention on day-to-day life. Results from the satisfaction survey indicated that caregiver participants were mostly satisfied with all aspects of the intervention except the use of some technological components. The field notes described challenges with implementation via telehealth. CONCLUSIONS: Future research involving a cohort comparison study with a larger cohort of dyads is needed to establish treatment efficacy

Combining sequence-based prediction methods and circular dichroism and infrared spectroscopic data to improve protein secondary structure determinations

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>A number of sequence-based methods exist for protein secondary structure prediction. Protein secondary structures can also be determined experimentally from circular dichroism, and infrared spectroscopic data using empirical analysis methods. It has been proposed that comparable accuracy can be obtained from sequence-based predictions as from these biophysical measurements. Here we have examined the secondary structure determination accuracies of sequence prediction methods with the empirically determined values from the spectroscopic data on datasets of proteins for which both crystal structures and spectroscopic data are available.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In this study we show that the sequence prediction methods have accuracies nearly comparable to those of spectroscopic methods. However, we also demonstrate that combining the spectroscopic and sequences techniques produces significant overall improvements in secondary structure determinations. In addition, combining the extra information content available from synchrotron radiation circular dichroism data with sequence methods also shows improvements.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Combining sequence prediction with experimentally determined spectroscopic methods for protein secondary structure content significantly enhances the accuracy of the overall results obtained.</p

Trends in selenium status of South Australians

The document attached has been archived with permission from the editor of the Medical Journal of Australia. An external link to the publisher’s copy is included.Objective: To assess trends in selenium status in South Australians from 1977 to 2002. Design: Six cross-sectional surveys. Participants: 117 participants in 1977, 30 in 1979, 96 and 103 (separate surveys) in 1987, 200 in 1988, and 288 volunteer blood donors in 2002. A total of 834 healthy Australian adults (mean age, 42 years [range, 17–71 years]; 445 were male). Main outcome measures: Plasma and whole blood selenium concentrations. Results: The 2002 survey yielded a mean plasma selenium concentration of 103 μg/L (SE, 0.65), which reached the estimated nutritional adequacy level of 100 μg/L plasma selenium. Mean whole blood selenium declined 20% from the 1977 and 1979 surveys (mean whole blood selenium concentration, 153 μg/L) to the 1987, 1988 and 2002 surveys (mean whole blood selenium concentration, 122 μg/L). Plasma selenium was higher in men (P = 0.01), and increased with age in both men and women (P = 0.008). Conclusions: In healthy South Australian adults sampled from 1977 to 2002, whole blood and plasma selenium concentrations were above those reported for most other countries and in most previous Australian studies, notwithstanding an apparent decline in selenium status from the late 1970s to the late 1980s.Graham H Lyons, Geoffrey J Judson, James C R Stangoulis, Lyndon T Palmer, Janine A Jones and Robin D Graha

Bacterial and fungal microflora in surgically removed lung cancer samples

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Clinical and experimental data suggest an association between the presence of bacterial and/or fungal infection and the development of different types of cancer, independently of chemotherapy-induced leukopenia. This has also been postulated for the development of lung cancer, however the prevalence and the exact species of the bacteria and fungi implicated, have not yet been described.</p> <p>Aim</p> <p>To determine the presence of bacterial and fungal microflora in surgically extracted samples of patients with lung cancer.</p> <p>Materials and methods</p> <p>In this single-center prospective, observational study, tissue samples were surgically extracted from 32 consecutive patients with lung cancer, and reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used to identify the presence of bacteria and fungi strains.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The analysis of the electrophoresis data pointed out diversity between the samples and the strains that were identified. Mycoplasma strains were identified in all samples. Strains that appeared more often were Staphylococcus epidermidis, Streptococcus mitis and Bacillus strains, followed in descending frequency by Chlamydia, Candida, Listeria, and Haemophilus influenza. In individual patients Legionella pneumophila and Candida tropicalis were detected.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>A diversity of pathogens could be identified in surgically extracted tissue samples of patients with lung cancer, with mycoplasma strains being present in all samples. These results point to an etiologic role for chronic infection in lung carcinogenesis. Confirmation of these observations and additional studies are needed to further characterize the etiologic role of inflammation in lung carcinogenesis.</p

Unexpected Ecological Resilience in Bornean Orangutans and Implications for Pulp and Paper Plantation Management

Ecological studies of orangutans have almost exclusively focused on populations living in primary or selectively logged rainforest. The response of orangutans to severe habitat degradation remains therefore poorly understood. Most experts assume that viable populations cannot survive outside undisturbed or slightly disturbed forests. This is a concern because nearly 75% of all orangutans live outside protected areas, where degradation of natural forests is likely to occur, or where these are replaced by planted forests. To improve our understanding of orangutan survival in highly altered forest habitats, we conducted population density surveys in two pulp and paper plantation concessions in East Kalimantan, Indonesia. These plantations consist of areas planted with fast-growing exotics intermixed with stands of highly degraded forests and scrublands. Our rapid surveys indicate unexpectedly high orangutan densities in plantation landscapes dominated by Acacia spp., although it remains unclear whether such landscapes can maintain long-term viable populations. These findings indicate the need to better understand how plantation-dominated landscapes can potentially be incorporated into orangutan conservation planning. Although we emphasize that plantations have less value for overall biodiversity conservation than natural forests, they could potentially boost the chances of orangutan survival. Our findings are based on a relatively short study and various methodological issues need to be addressed, but they suggest that orangutans may be more ecologically flexible than previously thought

Effective action of three-dimensional extended supersymmetric matter on gauge superfield background

We study the low-energy effective actions for gauge superfields induced by quantum N=2 and N=4 supersymmetric matter fields in three-dimensional Minkowski space. Analyzing the superconformal invariants in the N=2 superspace we propose a general form of the N=2 gauge invariant and superconformal effective action. The leading terms in this action are fixed by the symmetry up to the coefficients while the higher order terms with respect to the Maxwell field strength are found up to one arbitrary function of quasi-primary N=2 superfields constructed from the superfield strength and its covariant spinor derivatives. Then we find this function and the coefficients by direct quantum computations in the N=2 superspace. The effective action of N=4 gauge multiplet is obtained by generalizing the N=2 effective action.Comment: 1+27 pages; v2: minor corrections, references adde

The role of the helper lipid on the DNA transfection efficiency of lipopolyplex formulations.

Multifunctional, lipopolyplex formulations comprising a mixture of cationic liposomes and cationic, receptor-targeting peptides have potential use in gene therapy applications. Lipopolyplex formulations described here are typically far more efficient transfection agents than binary lipoplex or polyplex formulations. It has been shown previously that the peptide component mediates both DNA packaging and targeting of the nanoparticle while in this report we investigate the contribution of the lipid component. We hypothesised that the lipid components synergise with the peptides in the transfection process by promoting endosomal escape after lipid bilayer fusion. Lipopolyplexes were prepared with cationic liposomes comprising DOTAP with either neutral lipid DOPE or DOPC. DOPE promotes fusogenic, inverted hexagonal lipid structures while DOPC promotes more stable laminar structures. Lipopolyplexes containing DOPE showed substantially higher transfection efficiency than those formulated with DOPC, both in vitro and in vivo. DOPE-containing lipopolyplexes showed rapid endosomal trafficking and nuclear accumulation of DNA while DOPC-containing formulations remained within the late endo-lysosomal compartments. These findings are consistent with previous finding for the role of DOPE in lipoplexes and support the hypothesis regarding the function of the lipid components in lipopolyplexes. These findings will help to inform future lipopolyplex design, strategies and clinical development processes

Cholesterol granuloma presenting as a mass obstructing the external ear canal

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Cholesterol granuloma (CG) may involve the middle ear, the mastoid bone and the petrous apex. However, CG presenting as a mass obstructing the external ear canal (EEC) is relatively rare and it can be a diagnostic challenge.</p> <p>Case Presentation</p> <p>We report a case of a CG occupying the mastoid antrum and presenting as a mass into the EEC. Temporal bone computerized tomography showed a soft tissue mass which eroded the posterior-superior bony wall of the EEC. On magnetic resonance imaging, the mass revealed a high signal on both T1 and T2-weighted images. The CG was removed by a mastoidectomy procedure and the histopathologic report confirmed the diagnosis of CG. A type III tympanoplasty was performed.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The postoperative course was uneventful.</p