Is Gestational Diabetes Mellitus an Important Contributor to Metabolic Disorders in Trinidad and Tobago?

Objective. To investigate the incidence of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus at the Mt. Hope Women's Hospital and to describe its epidemiological pattern. Design. A retrospective observational study (Jan 2005 to Dec 2007). Setting. A teaching hospital of The University of the West Indies. Population/Sample. Pregnant women who gave birth. Methods. A sample size of 720. The variables analyzed were: age, ethnicity, BMI of mother, family history of diabetes; history of GDM, obstetric history, birth weight and APGAR score of infant. Main Outcome Measures. (1) Incidence of cases of GDM. (2) Impact of the measured variable. Chi-squares, odds ratios and logistic regression were performed. Results. The incidence of GDM was 4.31% (95% C.I. 2.31%, 6.31%). The proportion of GDM patients for the years 2005, 2006, and 2007 were 1.67%, 4.58%, and 6.67%, respectively. Age, Obesity Ethnicity, Family history of diabetes and a history of GDM were determined risk factors. Associations between GDM and (1) Mode of Delivery and (2) APGAR score of the baby were found. Discussion & Conclusion. There was an apparent increase in the incidence of GDM. Additional studies should be conducted to measure the occurrence of GDM in Trinidad and Tobago. Efforts to promote public awareness and a healthy lifestyle should be made to reverse this trend

Mitochondrial phylogeography and demographic history of the Vicuña: implications for conservation

The vicuña (Vicugna vicugna; Miller, 1924) is a conservation success story, having recovered from near extinction in the 1960s to current population levels estimated at 275 000. However, lack of information about its demographic history and genetic diversity has limited both our understanding of its recovery and the development of science-based conservation measures. To examine the evolution and recent demographic history of the vicuña across its current range and to assess its genetic variation and population structure, we sequenced mitochondrial DNA from the control region (CR) for 261 individuals from 29 populations across Peru, Chile and Argentina. Our results suggest that populations currently designated as Vicugna vicugna vicugna and Vicugna vicugna mensalis comprise separate mitochondrial lineages. The current population distribution appears to be the result of a recent demographic expansion associated with the last major glacial event of the Pleistocene in the northern (18 to 22°S) dry Andes 14–12 000 years ago and the establishment of an extremely arid belt known as the 'Dry Diagonal' to 29°S. Within the Dry Diagonal, small populations of V. v. vicugna appear to have survived showing the genetic signature of demographic isolation, whereas to the north V. v. mensalis populations underwent a rapid demographic expansion before recent anthropogenic impacts

Traits associated with innate and adaptive immunity in pigs: heritability and associations with performance under different health status conditions

There is a need for genetic markers or biomarkers that can predict resistance towards a wide range of infectious diseases, especially within a health environment typical of commercial farms. Such markers also need to be heritable under these conditions and ideally correlate with commercial performance traits. In this study, we estimated the heritabilities of a wide range of immune traits, as potential biomarkers, and measured their relationship with performance within both specific pathogen-free (SPF) and non-SPF environments. Immune traits were measured in 674 SPF pigs and 606 non-SPF pigs, which were subsets of the populations for which we had performance measurements (average daily gain), viz. 1549 SPF pigs and 1093 non-SPF pigs. Immune traits measured included total and differential white blood cell counts, peripheral blood mononuclear leucocyte (PBML) subsets (CD4+ cells, total CD8α+ cells, classical CD8αβ+ cells, CD11R1+ cells (CD8α+ and CD8α-), B cells, monocytes and CD16+ cells) and acute phase proteins (alpha-1 acid glycoprotein (AGP), haptoglobin, C-reactive protein (CRP) and transthyretin). Nearly all traits tested were heritable regardless of health status, although the heritability estimate for average daily gain was lower under non-SPF conditions. There were also negative genetic correlations between performance and the following immune traits: CD11R1+ cells, monocytes and the acute phase protein AGP. The strength of the association between performance and AGP was not affected by health status. However, negative genetic correlations were only apparent between performance and monocytes under SPF conditions and between performance and CD11R1+ cells under non-SPF conditions. Although we cannot infer causality in these relationships, these results suggest a role for using some immune traits, particularly CD11R1+ cells or AGP concentrations, as predictors of pig performance under the lower health status conditions associated with commercial farms

A hypothetico-deductive approach to assessing the social function of chemical signalling in a non-territorial solitary carnivore

The function of chemical signalling in non-territorial solitary carnivores is still relatively unclear. Studies on territorial solitary and social carnivores have highlighted odour capability and utility, however the social function of chemical signalling in wild carnivore populations operating dominance hierarchy social systems has received little attention. We monitored scent marking and investigatory behaviour of wild brown bears Ursus arctos, to test multiple hypotheses relating to the social function of chemical signalling. Camera traps were stationed facing bear ‘marking trees’ to document behaviour by different age sex classes in different seasons. We found evidence to support the hypothesis that adult males utilise chemical signalling to communicate dominance to other males throughout the non-denning period. Adult females did not appear to utilise marking trees to advertise oestrous state during the breeding season. The function of marking by subadult bears is somewhat unclear, but may be related to the behaviour of adult males. Subadults investigated trees more often than they scent marked during the breeding season, which could be a result of an increased risk from adult males. Females with young showed an increase in marking and investigation of trees outside of the breeding season. We propose the hypothesis that females engage their dependent young with marking trees from a young age, at a relatively ‘safe’ time of year. Memory, experience, and learning at a young age, may all contribute towards odour capabilities in adult bears

Barriers and facilitators to implementing community outreach work, and inter-professional collaboration with regional partners

Abstract : Objective. Community outreach workers support individuals in accessing the health and community services they require through various forms of proximity approaches. Even though community outreach has been available in the province of Quebec (Canada) for the past 40 years, it is still difficult to implement and sustain, especially with families of young children. The aim of this study was to document barriers and facilitators to implementing community outreach practices, and to describe how such workers collaborate with sectoral (e.g. health care) and inter-sectoral (e.g. municipalities, community organizations, schools) partners. Methodology. We performed a content analysis on 55 scientific and grey literature documents, and transcriptions of 24 individual interviews and 3 focus groups with stakeholders including parents, community outreach workers, health care employees, and inter-sectoral partners. Results. This study reveals four categories of barriers and facilitators to the implementation of community outreach work (i.e. organizational factors, nature of the work and worker-related factors, family-related factors, external factors). With regards to collaboration, community outreach workers deal with various partners. Good inter-professional collaboration is achieved through positive interactions and communication, shared or co-developed activities for the families, co-intervention with families, and strategies to enhance role awareness and inter-sectoral meetings. Conclusion. Results highlighted that many factors interact and can either influence, positively or negatively, the opportunity to implement community outreach work. The collaborative practices identified may help to maximize facilitators and overcome barriers. Advocacy and a better understanding of how to integrate community outreach work within health services while maintaining the workers’ flexibility are needed to sustain this practice

How selection for reproduction or foundation for longevity could have affected blood lymphocyte populations of rabbit does under conventional and heat stress conditions

[EN] The present work characterises how selection for reproduction (by comparing two generations - 16th and 36th - of the V line selected for litter size at weaning) or foundation for reproductive longevity (the LP line) can affect the blood lymphocytes populations of reproductive rabbit does under normal [conventional housing, average daily minimum and maximum temperatures of 14 degrees C and 20 degrees C, respectively] and heat stress conditions [climatic chamber, 25 degrees C and 36 degrees C] from the first to the second parturition. Housing under heat stress conditions significantly reduced the B lymphocytes counts in female rabbits (-34 x 10(6)/L; P < 0.05). The highest lymphocytes population value in blood (total, T CD5(+), CD4(+) and CD8(+)) was noted at the first parturition, while the B lymphocytes count was significantly lower at the second parturition (-61 x 10(6)/L; P < 0.05). Selection for litter size at weaning (V females) reduced the average counts of total and B lymphocytes in blood (-502 and -60 x 10(6)/L, respectively; P < 0.01), mainly because these populations in V36 females continuously lowered from the first to the second parturition under normal housing conditions. Thus, more selected females (V36) at the second parturition showed significantly lower counts in blood for total, T CD5(+) and CD25(+) lymphocytes (-1303, -446 and -33 x 10(6)/L, respectively; P < 0.05). The main differences in blood counts between V36 and V16 females disappeared when housed under heat stress conditions, except for T CD5(+) and CD25(+), which significantly increased (T CD5(+): +428 x 10(6)/L; CD25(+): +41 x 10(6)/L; P < 0.01) in the V16 vs. V36 females on day 10 post-partum. Under normal conditions, no differences between LP and V36 females were found for most lymphocyte populations; only higher counts were noted in CD25(+) (+20 x 10(6)/L; P < 0.05) for LP females. However, the lymphocytes counts [especially total (+1327 x 10(6)/L; P < 0.01) and T CD5(+) (+376 x 10(6)/L; P < 0.10)] of LP females increased under heat vs. normal conditions when lymphocytes populations presented the lowest values (second parturition), while V36 females' counts remained invariable. Positive correlations were found between feed intake (r = +0.51; P < 0.001) and females' perirenal fat thickness (r = +0.40; P < 0.001) with B lymphocytes counts in the blood of primiparous rabbit females in the week 2 of lactation. These results indicate that selection for litter size at weaning might diminish their immune system's response and adaptation capacity, while the foundation for reproductive longevity criteria leads to more robust rabbit females as they present greater modulation under heat stress conditions when the immune system is affected. (c) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.This study has been supported by grants from the CEU-Cardenal Herrera University (Banco Santander/CEU-UCH: Copernicus Program), Generalitat Valenciana (ACOMP/2009/207 and ACOMP/2010/062) and the Comision Interministerial de Ciencia y Tecnologia (AGL2008-00273/GAN, AGL2008-03274/GAN and AGL2011-30170-CO2-02). Grants for Selena Ferrian and Irene Guerrero from Generalitat Valenciana (the Santiago Grisolia programme) and from the Universidad CEU-Cardenal Herrera, respectively, are also gratefully acknowledged.Ferrian, S.; Guerrero, I.; Blas Ferrer, E.; García Diego, FJ.; Viana, D.; Pascual Amorós, JJ.; Corpa, JM. (2012). How selection for reproduction or foundation for longevity could have affected blood lymphocyte populations of rabbit does under conventional and heat stress conditions. Veterinary Immunology and Immunopathology. 150(1-2):53-60. doi:10.1016/j.vetimm.2012.08.007S53601501-

Domain Swapping and Different Oligomeric States for the Complex Between Calmodulin and the Calmodulin-Binding Domain of Calcineurin A

BACKGROUND: Calmodulin (CaM) is a ubiquitously expressed calcium sensor that engages in regulatory interactions with a large number of cellular proteins. Previously, a unique mode of CaM target recognition has been observed in the crystal structure of a complex between CaM and the CaM-binding domain of calcineurin A. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We have solved a high-resolution crystal structure of a complex between CaM and the CaM-binding domain of calcineurin A in a novel crystal form, which shows a dimeric assembly of calmodulin, as observed before in the crystal state. We note that the conformation of CaM in this complex is very similar to that of unliganded CaM, and a detailed analysis revels that the CaM-binding motif in calcineurin A is of a novel '1-11' type. However, using small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), we show that the complex is fully monomeric in solution, and a structure of a canonically collapsed CaM-peptide complex can easily be fitted into the SAXS data. This result is also supported by size exclusion chromatography, where the addition of the ligand peptide decreases the apparent size of CaM. In addition, we studied the energetics of binding by isothermal titration calorimetry and found them to closely resemble those observed previously for ligand peptides from CaM-dependent kinases. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our results implicate that CaM can also form a complex with the CaM-binding domain of calcineurin in a 1 ratio 1 stoichiometry, in addition to the previously observed 2 ratio 2 arrangement in the crystal state. At the structural level, going from 2 ratio 2 association to two 1 ratio 1 complexes will require domain swapping in CaM, accompanied by the characteristic bending of the central linker helix between the two lobes of CaM