Distinguishing Family from Friends

Kinship and friendship are key human relationships. Increasingly, data suggest that people are not less altruistic toward friends than close kin. Some accounts suggest that psychologically we do not distinguish between them; countering this is evidence that kinship provides a unique explanatory factor. Using the Implicit Association Test, we examined how people implicitly think about close friends versus close kin in three contexts. In Experiment 1, we examined generic attitudinal dispositions toward friends and family. In Experiment 2, attitude similarity as a marker of family and friends was examined, and in Experiments 3 and 4, strength of in-group membership for family and friends was examined. Findings show that differences exist in implicit cognitive associations toward family and friends. There is some evidence that people hold more positive general dispositions toward friends, associate attitude similarity more with friends, consider family as more representative of the in-group than friends, but see friends as more in-group than distant kin

Knowledge of pressure ulcer prevention: a cross-sectional and comparative study among nurses

BACKGROUND: Pressure ulcers are a common, painful and costly condition. Results of a 1991 study into the knowledge among Dutch hospital nurses on the usefulness of measures to prevent pressure ulcers showed moderate knowledge. Results were confirmed by subsequent studies. In recent years, Dutch guidelines have been updated and the attention given to pressure ulcer care has been increased. This was expected to improve pressure ulcer care and to increase nurses' knowledge. The aims of the current study were to investigate (1) how much nurses employed in Dutch hospitals know about the usefulness of 28 preventive measures considered in the most recent national pressure ulcer guideline; (2) whether differences in knowledge exist between nurses working in hospitals that audit pressure ulcers and those employed in hospitals that do not; and (3) to study whether knowledge among Dutch hospital nurses regarding the usefulness of preventive measures had changed between 1991 and 2003. METHODS: A cross-sectional study design among nurses employed in Dutch hospitals in 2003 was used to investigate their knowledge and differences in knowledge between nurses employed in different types of institution. A comparative design was used to assess whether knowledge differed between this population and that of Dutch hospital nurses in 1991. The nurses' knowledge was assessed by a written questionnaire. Data of 522 respondents meeting the inclusion criteria were analyzed and compared with the results of the 351 nurses included in the 1991 study. RESULTS: Knowledge in 2003 was slightly better than that in 1991. The nurses were moderately aware of the usefulness of preventive measures. Nurses employed in organizations that monitored pressure ulcers did not display greater knowledge than those employed in organizations that did not do so. CONCLUSION: Knowledge among Dutch hospital nurses about the usefulness of measures to prevent pressure ulcers seems to be moderate. Being employed in an institution that monitors pressure ulcer care hardly affects the knowledge level. Knowledge about prevention has improved little since 1991

Kroppenstedtia pulmonis sp. nov. and Kroppenstedtia sanguinis sp. nov., isolated from human patients

Three human clinical strains (W9323T, X0209T and X0394) isolated from lung biopsy, blood and cerebral spinal fluid, respectively, were characterized using a polyphasic taxonomic approach. Comparative analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequences showed the three strains belonged to two novel branches within the genus Kroppenstedtia: 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis of W9323T showed closest sequence similarity to Kroppenstedtia eburnea JFMB-ATE T (95.3 %), Kroppenstedtia guangzhouensis GD02T (94.7 %) and strain X0209T (94.6 %); sequence analysis of strain X0209T showed closest sequence similarity to K. eburnea JFMB-ATE T (96.4 %) and K. guangzhouensis GD02T (96.0 %). Strains X0209T and X0394 were 99.9 % similar to each other by 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis. The DNA-DNA relatedness was 94.6 %, confirming that X0209T and X0394 belong to the same species. Chemotaxonomic data for strains W9323T and X0209T were consistent with those described for the genus Kroppenstedtia: whole-cell peptidoglycan contained LLdiaminopimelic acid; the major cellular fatty acids were iso-C15 and anteiso-C15; and the major menaquinone was MK-7. Different endospore morphology and carbon utilization profiles of strains W9323T and X0209T supported by phylogenetic analysis enabled us to conclude that the strains represent two new species within the genus Kroppenstedtia, for which the names Kroppenstedtia pulmonis sp. nov. (type strain W9323T =DSM 45752 T) and Kroppenstedtia sanguinis sp. nov. (type strain X0209T =DSM 45749T=CCUG 38657 T) are proposed

Metatranscriptomics and Pyrosequencing Facilitate Discovery of Potential Viral Natural Enemies of the Invasive Caribbean Crazy Ant, Nylanderia pubens

BACKGROUND: Nylanderia pubens (Forel) is an invasive ant species that in recent years has developed into a serious nuisance problem in the Caribbean and United States. A rapidly expanding range, explosive localized population growth, and control difficulties have elevated this ant to pest status. Professional entomologists and the pest control industry in the United States are urgently trying to understand its biology and develop effective control methods. Currently, no known biological-based control agents are available for use in controlling N. pubens. METHODOLOGY AND PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Metagenomics and pyrosequencing techniques were employed to examine the transcriptome of field-collected N. pubens colonies in an effort to identify virus infections with potential to serve as control agents against this pest ant. Pyrosequencing (454-platform) of a non-normalized N. pubens expression library generated 1,306,177 raw sequence reads comprising 450 Mbp. Assembly resulted in generation of 59,017 non-redundant sequences, including 27,348 contigs and 31,669 singlets. BLAST analysis of these non-redundant sequences identified 51 of potential viral origin. Additional analyses winnowed this list of potential viruses to three that appear to replicate in N. pubens. CONCLUSIONS: Pyrosequencing the transcriptome of field-collected samples of N. pubens has identified at least three sequences that are likely of viral origin and, in which, N. pubens serves as host. In addition, the N. pubens transcriptome provides a genetic resource for the scientific community which is especially important at this early stage of developing a knowledgebase for this new pest

Heterozygosity for Pten Promotes Tumorigenesis in a Mouse Model of Medulloblastoma

BACKGROUND: Recent publications have described an important role for cross talk between PI-3 kinase and sonic hedgehog signaling pathways in the pathogenesis of medulloblastoma. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We crossed mice with constitutive activation of Smoothened, SmoA1, with Pten deficient mice. Both constitutive and conditional Pten deficiency doubled the incidence of mice with symptoms of medulloblastoma and resulted in decreased survival. Analysis revealed a clear separation of gene signatures, with up-regulation of genes in the PI-3 kinase signaling pathway, including downstream activation of angiogenesis in SmoA1+/-; Pten +/- medulloblastomas. Western blotting and immunohistochemistry confirmed reduced or absent Pten, Akt activation, and increased angiogenesis in Pten deficient tumors. Down-regulated genes included genes in the sonic hedgehog pathway and tumor suppressor genes. SmoA1+/-; Pten +/+ medulloblastomas appeared classic in histology with increased proliferation and diffuse staining for apoptosis. In contrast, Pten deficient tumors exhibited extensive nodularity with neuronal differentiation separated by focal areas of intense staining for proliferation and virtually absent apoptosis. Examination of human medulloblastomas revealed low to absent PTEN expression in over half of the tumors. Kaplan-Meier analysis confirmed worse overall survival in patients whose tumor exhibited low to absent PTEN expression. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: This suggests that PTEN expression is a marker of favorable prognosis and mouse models with activation of PI-3 kinase pathways may be important tools for preclinical evaluation of promising agents for the treatment of medulloblastoma

Control of neuronal migration through rostral migratory stream in mice

During the nervous system development, immature neuroblasts have a strong potential to migrate toward their destination. In the adult brain, new neurons are continuously generated in the neurogenic niche located near the ventricle, and the newly generated cells actively migrate toward their destination, olfactory bulb, via highly specialized migratory route called rostral migratory stream (RMS). Neuroblasts in the RMS form chains by their homophilic interactions, and the neuroblasts in chains continually migrate through the tunnels formed by meshwork of astrocytes, glial tube. This review focuses on the development and structure of RMS and the regulation of neuroblast migration in the RMS. Better understanding of RMS migration may be crucial for improving functional replacement therapy by supplying endogenous neuronal cells to the injury sites more efficiently

Sex differences in the Simon task help to interpret sex differences in selective attention.

In the last decade, a number of studies have reported sex differences in selective attention, but a unified explanation for these effects is still missing. This study aims to better understand these differences and put them in an evolutionary psychological context. 418 adult participants performed a computer-based Simon task, in which they responded to the direction of a left or right pointing arrow appearing left or right from a fixation point. Women were more strongly influenced by task-irrelevant spatial information than men (i.e., the Simon effect was larger in women, Cohen's d = 0.39). Further, the analysis of sex differences in behavioral adjustment to errors revealed that women slow down more than men following mistakes (d = 0.53). Based on the combined results of previous studies and the current data, it is proposed that sex differences in selective attention are caused by underlying sex differences in core abilities, such as spatial or verbal cognition

Individual differences in reproductive strategy are related to views about recreational drug use in Belgium, the Netherlands and Japan

Individual differences in moral views are often explained as the downstream effect of ideological commitments, such as political orientation and religiosity. Recent studies in the U.S. suggest that moral views about recreational drug use are also influenced by attitudes towards sex and that this relationship cannot be explained by ideological commitments. In this study, we investigate student samples from Belgium, the Netherlands, and Japan. We find that, in all samples, sexual attitudes are strongly related to views about recreational drug use, even after controlling for various ideological variables. We discuss our results in the light of reproductive strategies as determinants of moral views

Roles of Myosin Va and Rab3D in Membrane Remodeling of Immature Secretory Granules

Neuroendocrine secretory granules (SGs) are formed at the trans-Golgi network (TGN) as immature intermediates. In PC12 cells, these immature SGs (ISGs) are transported within seconds to the cell cortex, where they move along actin filaments and complete maturation. This maturation process comprises acidification-dependent processing of cargo proteins, condensation of the SG matrix, and removal of membrane and proteins not destined to mature SGs (MSGs) into ISG-derived vesicles (IDVs). We investigated the roles of myosin Va and Rab3 isoforms in the maturation of ISGs in neuroendocrine PC12 cells. The expression of dominant-negative mutants of myosin Va or Rab3D blocked the removal of the endoprotease furin from ISGs. Furthermore, expression of mutant Rab3D, but not of mutant myosin Va, impaired cargo processing of SGs. In conclusion, our data suggest an implication of myosin Va and Rab3D in the maturation of SGs where they participate in overlapping but not identical tasks

Sex-specific disruption of murine midbrain astrocytic and dopaminergic developmental trajectories following antenatal GC treatment

The mammalian midbrain dopaminergic systems arising in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) and ventral tegmental area (VTA) are critical for coping behaviours and are implicated in neuropsychiatric disorders where early life challenges comprise significant risk factors. Here, we aimed to advance our hypothesis that glucocorticoids (GCs), recognised key players in neurobiological programming, target development within these systems, with a novel focus on the astrocytic population. Mice received antenatal GC treatment (AGT) by including the synthetic GC, dexamethasone, in the mothers' drinking water on gestational days 16-19; controls received normal drinking water. Analyses of regional shapes and volumes of the adult SNc and VTA demonstrated that AGT induced long-term, dose-dependent, structural changes that were accompanied by profound effects on astrocytes (doubling/tripling of numbers and/or density). Additionally, AGT induced long-term changes in the population size and distribution of SNc/VTA dopaminergic neurons, confirming and extending our previous observations made in rats. Furthermore, glial/neuronal structural remodelling was sexually dimorphic and depended on the AGT dose and sub-region of the SNc/VTA. Investigations within the neonatal brain revealed that these long-term organisational effects of AGT depend, at least in part, on targeting perinatal processes that determine astrocyte density and programmed cell death in dopaminergic neurons. Collectively, our characterisation of enduring, AGT-induced, sex-specific cytoarchitectural disturbances suggests novel mechanistic links for the strong association between early environmental challenge (inappropriate exposure to excess GCs) and vulnerability to developing aberrant behaviours in later life, with translational implications for dopamine-associated disorders (such as schizophrenia, ADHD, autism, depression), which typically show a sex bia