Aircraft measurements of the latitudinal, vertical, and seasonal variations of NMHCs, methyl nitrate, methyl halides, and DMS during the First Aerosol Characterization Experiment (ACE 1)

Canister sampling for the determination of atmospheric mixing ratios of nonmethane hydrocarbons (NMHCs), selected halocarbons, and methyl nitrate was conducted aboard the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) C-130 aircraft over the Pacific and Southern Oceans as part of the First Aerosol Characterization Experiment (ACE 1) during November and December 1995. A latitudinal profile, flown from 76°N to 60°S, revealed latitudinal gradients for most trace gases. NMHC and halocarbon gases with predominantly anthropogenic sources, including ethane, ethyne, and tetrachloroethene, exhibited significantly higher mixing ratios in the northern hemisphere at all altitudes. Methyl chloride exhibited its lowest mixing ratios at the highest northern hemisphere latitudes, and the distributions of methyl nitrate and methyl iodide were consistent with tropical and subtropical oceanic sources. Layers containing continental air characteristic of aged biomass burning emissions were observed above about 3 km over the remote southern Pacific and near New Zealand between approximately 19°S and 43°S. These plumes originated from the west, possibly from fires in southern Africa. The month-long intensive investigation of the clean marine southern midlatitude troposphere south of Australia revealed decreases in the mixing ratios of ethane, ethyne, propane, and tetrachloroethene, consistent with their seasonal mixing ratio cycle. By contrast, increases in the average marine boundary layer concentrations of methyl iodide, methyl nitrate, and dimethyl sulfide (DMS) were observed as the season progressed to summer conditions. These increases were most appreciable in the region south of 44°S over Southern Ocean waters characterized as subantarctic and polar, indicating a seasonal increase in oceanic productivity for these gases. Copyright 1999 by the American Geophysical Union

Onecut-dependent Nkx6.2 transcription factor expression is required for proper formation and activity of spinal locomotor circuits.

In the developing spinal cord, Onecut transcription factors control the diversification of motor neurons into distinct neuronal subsets by ensuring the maintenance of Isl1 expression during differentiation. However, other genes downstream of the Onecut proteins and involved in motor neuron diversification have remained unidentified. In the present study, we generated conditional mutant embryos carrying specific inactivation of Onecut genes in the developing motor neurons, performed RNA-sequencing to identify factors downstream of Onecut proteins in this neuron population, and employed additional transgenic mouse models to assess the role of one specific Onecut-downstream target, the transcription factor Nkx6.2. Nkx6.2 expression was up-regulated in Onecut-deficient motor neurons, but strongly downregulated in Onecut-deficient V2a interneurons, indicating an opposite regulation of Nkx6.2 by Onecut factors in distinct spinal neuron populations. Nkx6.2-null embryos, neonates and adult mice exhibited alterations of locomotor pattern and spinal locomotor network activity, likely resulting from defective survival of a subset of limb-innervating motor neurons and abnormal migration of V2a interneurons. Taken together, our results indicate that Nkx6.2 regulates the development of spinal neuronal populations and the formation of the spinal locomotor circuits downstream of the Onecut transcription factors

Swings between rotation and accretion power in a millisecond binary pulsar

It is thought that neutron stars in low-mass binary systems can accrete matter and angular momentum from the companion star and be spun-up to millisecond rotational periods. During the accretion stage, the system is called a low-mass X-ray binary, and bright X-ray emission is observed. When the rate of mass transfer decreases in the later evolutionary stages, these binaries host a radio millisecond pulsar whose emission is powered by the neutron star's rotating magnetic field. This evolutionary model is supported by the detection of millisecond X-ray pulsations from several accreting neutron stars and also by the evidence for a past accretion disc in a rotation-powered millisecond pulsar. It has been proposed that a rotation-powered pulsar may temporarily switch on during periods of low mass inflow in some such systems. Only indirect evidence for this transition has hitherto been observed. Here we report observations of accretion-powered, millisecond X-ray pulsations from a neutron star previously seen as a rotation-powered radio pulsar. Within a few days after a month-long X-ray outburst, radio pulses were again detected. This not only shows the evolutionary link between accretion and rotation-powered millisecond pulsars, but also that some systems can swing between the two states on very short timescales.Comment: 43 pages, 9 figures, 4 table. Published by Nature on 26 Sep 2013. Includes Supplementary information. Minor differences with published version may exis

Endocrine therapy and related issues in hormone receptor-positive early breast cancer: a roundtable discussion by the breast cancer therapy expert group (BCTEG)

Purpose: Management of breast cancer is a rapidly evolving field, and, although evidence-based guidelines are available for clinicians to provide direction on critical issues in patient care, clinicians often left to address these issues in the context of community practice situations with their patients. These include the patient’s comorbid conditions, actual versus perceived benefit of treatments, patient’s compliance as well as financial/reimbursement issues, and long-term tolerability of therapy. Methods: A meeting of global oncology experts was convened in January 2017 with the belief that there is a gap in clinical practice guidance on several fundamental issues in breast cancer care, particularly in the community setting, where oncologists may encounter multiple tumor types. The goal was to discuss some of the most important questions in this area and provide some guidance for practicing oncologists. Results: Topics addressed included risk of contralateral breast cancer recurrence in patients with estrogen receptor-positive early breast cancer who have undergone 5 years of adjuvant endocrine therapy, adverse events associated with endocrine therapy and their management, emergent data on adjuvant bisphosphonate therapy and its apparent benefit in reducing breast cancer recurrence, recent findings of extended adjuvant endocrine therapy trials, and the use of currently available genomic biomarker tests as a means of further informing treatment decisions. Conclusions: A summary of the discussion on these topics and several ‘expert opinion statements’ are provided herein in an effort to convey the collective insights of the panel as it relates to current standard practice

A primary care, multi-disciplinary disease management program for opioid-treated patients with chronic non-cancer pain and a high burden of psychiatric comorbidity

BACKGROUND: Chronic non-cancer pain is a common problem that is often accompanied by psychiatric comorbidity and disability. The effectiveness of a multi-disciplinary pain management program was tested in a 3 month before and after trial. METHODS: Providers in an academic general medicine clinic referred patients with chronic non-cancer pain for participation in a program that combined the skills of internists, clinical pharmacists, and a psychiatrist. Patients were either receiving opioids or being considered for opioid therapy. The intervention consisted of structured clinical assessments, monthly follow-up, pain contracts, medication titration, and psychiatric consultation. Pain, mood, and function were assessed at baseline and 3 months using the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI), the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale scale (CESD) and the Pain Disability Index (PDI). Patients were monitored for substance misuse. RESULTS: Eighty-five patients were enrolled. Mean age was 51 years, 60% were male, 78% were Caucasian, and 93% were receiving opioids. Baseline average pain was 6.5 on an 11 point scale. The average CESD score was 24.0, and the mean PDI score was 47.0. Sixty-three patients (73%) completed 3 month follow-up. Fifteen withdrew from the program after identification of substance misuse. Among those completing 3 month follow-up, the average pain score improved to 5.5 (p = 0.003). The mean PDI score improved to 39.3 (p < 0.001). Mean CESD score was reduced to 18.0 (p < 0.001), and the proportion of depressed patients fell from 79% to 54% (p = 0.003). Substance misuse was identified in 27 patients (32%). CONCLUSIONS: A primary care disease management program improved pain, depression, and disability scores over three months in a cohort of opioid-treated patients with chronic non-cancer pain. Substance misuse and depression were common, and many patients who had substance misuse identified left the program when they were no longer prescribed opioids. Effective care of patients with chronic pain should include rigorous assessment and treatment of these comorbid disorders and intensive efforts to insure follow up

Multisensory information facilitates reaction speed by enlarging activity difference between superior colliculus hemispheres in rats

Animals can make faster behavioral responses to multisensory stimuli than to unisensory stimuli. The superior colliculus (SC), which receives multiple inputs from different sensory modalities, is considered to be involved in the initiation of motor responses. However, the mechanism by which multisensory information facilitates motor responses is not yet understood. Here, we demonstrate that multisensory information modulates competition among SC neurons to elicit faster responses. We conducted multiunit recordings from the SC of rats performing a two-alternative spatial discrimination task using auditory and/or visual stimuli. We found that a large population of SC neurons showed direction-selective activity before the onset of movement in response to the stimuli irrespective of stimulation modality. Trial-by-trial correlation analysis showed that the premovement activity of many SC neurons increased with faster reaction speed for the contraversive movement, whereas the premovement activity of another population of neurons decreased with faster reaction speed for the ipsiversive movement. When visual and auditory stimuli were presented simultaneously, the premovement activity of a population of neurons for the contraversive movement was enhanced, whereas the premovement activity of another population of neurons for the ipsiversive movement was depressed. Unilateral inactivation of SC using muscimol prolonged reaction times of contraversive movements, but it shortened those of ipsiversive movements. These findings suggest that the difference in activity between the SC hemispheres regulates the reaction speed of motor responses, and multisensory information enlarges the activity difference resulting in faster responses

Adolescent brain maturation and cortical folding: evidence for reductions in gyrification

Evidence from anatomical and functional imaging studies have highlighted major modifications of cortical circuits during adolescence. These include reductions of gray matter (GM), increases in the myelination of cortico-cortical connections and changes in the architecture of large-scale cortical networks. It is currently unclear, however, how the ongoing developmental processes impact upon the folding of the cerebral cortex and how changes in gyrification relate to maturation of GM/WM-volume, thickness and surface area. In the current study, we acquired high-resolution (3 Tesla) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data from 79 healthy subjects (34 males and 45 females) between the ages of 12 and 23 years and performed whole brain analysis of cortical folding patterns with the gyrification index (GI). In addition to GI-values, we obtained estimates of cortical thickness, surface area, GM and white matter (WM) volume which permitted correlations with changes in gyrification. Our data show pronounced and widespread reductions in GI-values during adolescence in several cortical regions which include precentral, temporal and frontal areas. Decreases in gyrification overlap only partially with changes in the thickness, volume and surface of GM and were characterized overall by a linear developmental trajectory. Our data suggest that the observed reductions in GI-values represent an additional, important modification of the cerebral cortex during late brain maturation which may be related to cognitive development

A participatory physical and psychosocial intervention for balancing the demands and resources among industrial workers (PIPPI): study protocol of a cluster-randomized controlled trial

Background: Need for recovery and work ability are strongly associated with high employee turnover, well-being and sickness absence. However, scientific knowledge on effective interventions to improve work ability and decrease need for recovery is scarce. Thus, the present study aims to describe the background, design and protocol of a cluster randomized controlled trial evaluating the effectiveness of an intervention to reduce need for recovery and improve work ability among industrial workers. Methods/Design: A two-year cluster randomized controlled design will be utilized, in which controls will also receive the intervention in year two. More than 400 workers from three companies in Denmark will be aimed to be cluster randomized into intervention and control groups with at least 200 workers (at least 9 work teams) in each group. An organizational resources audit and subsequent action planning workshop will be carried out to map the existing resources and act upon initiatives not functioning as intended. Workshops will be conducted to train leaders and health and safety representatives in supporting and facilitating the intervention activities. Group and individual level participatory visual mapping sessions will be carried out allowing team members to discuss current physical and psychosocial work demands and resources, and develop action plans to minimize strain and if possible, optimize the resources. At all levels, the intervention will be integrated into the existing organization of work schedules. An extensive process and effect evaluation on need for recovery and work ability will be carried out via questionnaires, observations, interviews and organizational data assessed at several time points throughout the intervention period. Discussion: This study primarily aims to develop, implement and evaluate an intervention based on the abovementioned features which may improve the work environment, available resources and health of industrial workers, and hence their need for recovery and work ability

Building Babies - Chapter 16

In contrast to birds, male mammals rarely help to raise the offspring. Of all mammals, only among rodents, carnivores, and primates, males are sometimes intensively engaged in providing infant care (Kleiman and Malcolm 1981). Male caretaking of infants has long been recognized in nonhuman primates (Itani 1959). Given that infant care behavior can have a positive effect on the infant’s development, growth, well-being, or survival, why are male mammals not more frequently involved in “building babies”? We begin the chapter defining a few relevant terms and introducing the theory and hypotheses that have historically addressed the evolution of paternal care. We then review empirical findings on male care among primate taxa, before focusing, in the final section, on our own work on paternal care in South American owl monkeys (Aotus spp.). We conclude the chapter with some suggestions for future studies.Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (HU 1746/2-1) Wenner-Gren Foundation, the L.S.B. Leakey Foundation, the National Geographic Society, the National Science Foundation (BCS-0621020), the University of Pennsylvania Research Foundation, the Zoological Society of San Dieg

Egg shape in the Common Guillemot Uria aalge and Brunnich’s Guillemot U. lomvia: not a rolling matter?

The adaptive significance of avian egg shape is poorly understood, and has been studied only in those species producing pyriform (pear-shaped, or pointed) eggs: waders and guillemots (murres) Uria spp., albeit to a limited extent. In the latter, it is widely believed that the pyriform shape has evolved to minimise their likelihood of rolling off a cliff ledge: the idea being that the more pointed the egg, the narrower the arc in which it rolls, and the less likely it is it will fall from a cliff ledge. Previous research also claimed that the rolling trajectory—the diameter of the arc they describe—of Common Guillemot U. aalge eggs is influenced not only by its shape but also by its mass, with heavier (i.e. larger) eggs describing a wider arc than lighter eggs. The finding that both shape and mass determined the rolling trajectory of Common Guillemot eggs (the shape–mass hypothesis) was used to explain the apparent anomaly that Bru¨nnich’s Guillemot U. lomvia produce eggs that are less pointed, yet breed on narrower ledges than Common Guillemots. They are able to do this, it was suggested, because Bru¨nnich’s Guillemot eggs are smaller and lighter in mass than those of Common Guillemots. However, since some populations of Bru¨nnich’s Guillemots produce eggs that are as large or larger than those of some Common Guillemot populations, the shape–mass hypothesis predicts that that (1) larger (i.e. heavier) eggs of both guillemot species will be more pyriform (pointed) in shape, and (2) that eggs of the two species of same mass should be similarly pointed. We tested these predictions and found: (1) only a weak, positive association between egg volume and pointedness in both guillemot species (\3% of the variation in egg shape explained by egg volume), and (2) no evidence that eggs of the two species of similar mass were more similar in shape: regardless of their mass, Brunnich’s Guillemot eggs were less pointed than Common Guillemot eggs. Overall, our results call into question the long-held belief that protection from rolling is the main selective factor driving guillemot egg shape