Differential reinforcing value of speech and heartbeats : a measure of functional lateralization in the neonate

By learning to suck on a nonnutritive nipple in temporal patterns selected by the experimenter, newborns could control whether the sounds of filtered female speech entered their left ear or their right ear. Similarly, other newborns could learn to control whether intrauterine heartbeat sounds entered one ear or the other. Infants consistently learned to suck so as to have speech sounds enter their right ear and heartbeat sounds enter their left ear. The right-ear speech preference and left-ear heartbeat preference in newborns averaging 52 hours of age indicates that auditory perception is functionally lateralized at birth and presumably, therefore, before

Refinements to rodent head fixation and fluid/food control for neuroscience

The use of head fixation in mice is increasingly common in research, its use having initially been restricted to the field of sensory neuroscience. Head restraint has often been combined with fluid control, rather than food restriction, to motivate behaviour, but this too is now in use for both restrained and non-restrained animals. Despite this, there is little guidance on how best to employ these techniques to optimise both scientific outcomes and animal welfare. This article summarises current practices and provides recommendations to improve animal wellbeing and data quality, based on a survey of the community, literature reviews, and the expert opinion and practical experience of an international working group convened by the UK's National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs). Topics covered include head fixation surgery and post-operative care, habituation to restraint, and the use of fluid/food control to motivate performance. We also discuss some recent developments that may offer alternative ways to collect data from large numbers of behavioural trials without the need for restraint. The aim is to provide support for researchers at all levels, animal care staff, and ethics committees to refine procedures and practices in line with the refinement principle of the 3Rs

A recurrent splice-site mutation in EPHA2 causing congenital posterior nuclear cataract

Intoduction: Inherited cataract, opacification of the lens, is the most common worldwide cause of blindness in children. We aimed to identify the genetic cause of autosomal dominant (AD) posterior nuclear cataract in a four generation British family. METHODS: Whole genome sequence (WGS) was performed on two affected and one unaffected individual of the family and further validated by direct sequencing. Haplotype analysis was performed via genotying. RESULTS: A splice-site mutation c.2826-9G>A in the gene EPHA2, encoding EPH receptor A2 was identified and found to co-segregate with disease. CONCLUSIONS: We have identified a recurrent splice-site mutation c.2826-9G>A in EPHA2 causing isolated posterior nuclear cataract, providing evidence of further phenotypic heterogeneity associated with this variant

Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG-supplemented formula expands butyrate-producing bacterial strains in food allergic infants.

Dietary intervention with extensively hydrolyzed casein formula supplemented with Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (EHCF+LGG) accelerates tolerance acquisition in infants with cow's milk allergy (CMA). We examined whether this effect is attributable, at least in part, to an influence on the gut microbiota. Fecal samples from healthy controls (n=20) and from CMA infants (n=19) before and after treatment with EHCF with (n=12) and without (n=7) supplementation with LGG were compared by 16S rRNA-based operational taxonomic unit clustering and oligotyping. Differential feature selection and generalized linear model fitting revealed that the CMA infants have a diverse gut microbial community structure dominated by Lachnospiraceae (20.5±9.7%) and Ruminococcaceae (16.2±9.1%). Blautia, Roseburia and Coprococcus were significantly enriched following treatment with EHCF and LGG, but only one genus, Oscillospira, was significantly different between infants that became tolerant and those that remained allergic. However, most tolerant infants showed a significant increase in fecal butyrate levels, and those taxa that were significantly enriched in these samples, Blautia and Roseburia, exhibited specific strain-level demarcations between tolerant and allergic infants. Our data suggest that EHCF+LGG promotes tolerance in infants with CMA, in part, by influencing the strain-level bacterial community structure of the infant gut

Litterfall, litter decomposition and associated nutrient fluxes in Pinus halepensis: influence of tree removal intensity in a Mediterranean forest

The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s10342-015-0893-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users[EN] Our knowledge about the influence of silvicultural treatments on nutrient cycling processes in Mediterranean forests is still limited. Four levels of tree removal were compared in an Aleppo pine forest in eastern Spain to determine the effects on litterfall, litter decomposition and the associated nutrient fluxes after 12 years. Removal treatments included clearfelling, two shelterwood intensities (60 and 75 % of basal area removed) and untreated controls. Twelve years later, the basal area removed still explained 60 % of litterfall mass variance and 60 % of C, 52 % of N, 45 % of P, 17 % of K, 47 % of Ca and 60 % of Mg return variances. Litter decomposed somewhat more slowly in clearfellings compared to controls (p = 0.049), accumulated more Ca and released less K compared to the other three treatments. This was explained by contamination with mineral particles due to the poorly developed O horizon in clearfellings. We conclude that the management practices reduced the nutrient return via litterfall, but the nutrient release through decomposition seems poorly sensitive to canopy disturbance. In order to accurately quantify the harvesting impacts on nutrient cycling in this Mediterranean forest system, it is necessary to measure the litterfall of the understory layer.This work has been supported by a fellowship from the Generalitat Valenciana, Conselleria de Educacion, Formacion y Empleo awarded to L. Lado-Monserrat (BFPI/2008/041). Silvicultural treatments were carried out by the Mediterranean Centre for Environmental Studies (CEAM) through programme "I + D en relacion con la restauracion de la cubierta vegetal y otros aspectos de investigacion forestal". Dataloggers and probes were provided by the Generalitat Valenciana through Project "Efecto de diferentes sistemas de aclareo de masa forestal sobre la disponibilidad de agua, nutrientes y la regeneracion de la masa arborea y arbustiva en parcelas de pinar" (GV06/126). We acknowledge Joana Oliver, Ruth M. Tavera and Daniel Fortanet for their help in the laboratory and in the field. The authors wish to thank Francisco Galiana for his assistance, including help in fieldwork and providing information about the experimental design of the silvicultural treatments. Thanks also go to Rafael Herrera from the Centro de Ecologia, Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Cientificas, Caracas, Venezuela and two anonymous reviewers for critically reviewing the manuscript.Lado Monserrat, L.; Lidón, A.; Bautista, I. (2015). Litterfall, litter decomposition and associated nutrient fluxes in Pinus halepensis: influence of tree removal intensity in a Mediterranean forest. 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High grade angiosarcoma arising in fibroadenoma

Primary angiosarcoma of the breast is a rare tumour that account for fewer than 0.05% of all malignant mammary tumours. Angiosarcoma may have an perfidious clinical onset. Radiologic findings are often nonspecific and may appear completely normal in one-third of cases with primary angiosarcoma. The prognosis is usually poor because of the high rates of local recurrence and early development of metastases. Aggressive surgical resection is the mainstay of treatment. The role of adjuvant therapy has not yet been well established

Contribution of smoking and air pollution exposure in urban areas to social differences in respiratory health

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Socio-economic status, smoking, and exposure to increased levels of environmental air pollution are associated with adverse effects on respiratory health. We assessed the contribution of occupational exposures, smoking and outdoor air pollution as competing factors for the association between socio-economic status and respiratory health indicators in a cohort of women from the Ruhr area aged 55 at the time of investigation between 1985 and 1990.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Data of 1251 women with spirometry and complete questionnaire information about respiratory diseases, smoking and potential confounders were used in the analyses. Exposure to large-scale air pollution was assessed with data from monitoring stations. Exposure to small-scale air pollution was assessed as traffic-related exposure by distance to the nearest major road. Socio-economic status was defined by educational level. Multiple regression models were used to estimate the contribution of occupational exposures, smoking and outdoor air pollution to social differences in respiratory health.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Women with less than 10 years of school education in comparison to more than 10 years of school education were more often occupationally exposed (16.4% vs. 10.1%), smoked more often (20.3% vs. 13.9%), and lived more often close to major roads (26.0% vs. 22.9%). Long-term exposure to increased levels of PM₁₀was significantly associated with lower school education. Women with low school education were more likely to suffer from respiratory symptoms and had reduced lung function. In the multivariate analysis the associations between education and respiratory health attenuated after adjusting for occupational exposure, smoking and outdoor air pollution. The crude odds ratio for the association between the lung function indicator FEV₁less than 80% of predicted value and educational level (<10 years vs. >10 years of school education) was 1.83 (95% CI: 1.22–2.74). This changed to 1.56 (95% CI: 1.03–2.37) after adjusting for occupational exposure, smoking and outdoor air pollution.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We found an association between socio-economic status and respiratory health. This can partly be explained by living conditions indicated by occupational exposure, smoking behaviour and ambient air pollution. A relevant part of the social differences in respiratory health, however, remained unexplained.</p

Measurement of the Forward-Backward Asymmetry in the B -> K(*) mu+ mu- Decay and First Observation of the Bs -> phi mu+ mu- Decay

We reconstruct the rare decays $B^+ \to K^+\mu^+\mu^-$, $B^0 \to K^{*}(892)^0\mu^+\mu^-$, and $B^0_s \to \phi(1020)\mu^+\mu^-$ in a data sample corresponding to $4.4 {\rm fb^{-1}}$ collected in $p\bar{p}$ collisions at $\sqrt{s}=1.96 {\rm TeV}$ by the CDF II detector at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider. Using $121 \pm 16$ $B^+ \to K^+\mu^+\mu^-$ and $101 \pm 12$ $B^0 \to K^{*0}\mu^+\mu^-$ decays we report the branching ratios. In addition, we report the measurement of the differential branching ratio and the muon forward-backward asymmetry in the $B^+$ and $B^0$ decay modes, and the $K^{*0}$ longitudinal polarization in the $B^0$ decay mode with respect to the squared dimuon mass. These are consistent with the theoretical prediction from the standard model, and most recent determinations from other experiments and of comparable accuracy. We also report the first observation of the $B^0_s \to \phi\mu^+\mu^- decay and measure its branching ratio${\mathcal{B}}(B^0_s \to \phi\mu^+\mu^-) = [1.44 \pm 0.33 \pm 0.46] \times 10^{-6}$using$27 \pm 6$signal events. This is currently the most rare$B^0_s$ decay observed.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, 3 tables. Submitted to Phys. Rev. Let

Measurements of the properties of Lambda_c(2595), Lambda_c(2625), Sigma_c(2455), and Sigma_c(2520) baryons

We report measurements of the resonance properties of Lambda_c(2595)+ and Lambda_c(2625)+ baryons in their decays to Lambda_c+ pi+ pi- as well as Sigma_c(2455)++,0 and Sigma_c(2520)++,0 baryons in their decays to Lambda_c+ pi+/- final states. These measurements are performed using data corresponding to 5.2/fb of integrated luminosity from ppbar collisions at sqrt(s) = 1.96 TeV, collected with the CDF II detector at the Fermilab Tevatron. Exploiting the largest available charmed baryon sample, we measure masses and decay widths with uncertainties comparable to the world averages for Sigma_c states, and significantly smaller uncertainties than the world averages for excited Lambda_c+ states.Comment: added one reference and one table, changed order of figures, 17 pages, 15 figure