Seasonal change in the avian hippocampus.

The hippocampus plays an important role in cognitive processes, including memory and spatial orientation, in birds. The hippocampus undergoes seasonal change in food-storing birds and brood parasites, there are changes in the hippocampus during breeding, and further changes occur in some species in association with migration. In food-storing birds, seasonal change in the hippocampus occurs in fall and winter when the cognitively demanding behaviour of caching and retrieving food occurs. The timing of annual change in the hippocampus of food-storing birds is quite variable, however, and appears not to be under photoperiod control. A variety of factors, including cognitive performance, exercise, and stress may all influence seasonal change in the avian hippocampus. The causal processes underlying seasonal change in the avian hippocampus have not been extensively examined and the more fully described hormonal influences on the mammalian hippocampus may provide hypotheses for investigating the control of hippocampal seasonality in birds

Sex Differences in Spatial Memory in Brown-Headed Cowbirds: Males Outperform Females on a Touchscreen Task

Spatial cognition in females and males can differ in species in which there are sex-specific patterns in the use of space. Brown-headed cowbirds are brood parasites that show a reversal of sex-typical space use often seen in mammals. Female cowbirds, search for, revisit and parasitize hosts nests, have a larger hippocampus than males and have better memory than males for a rewarded location in an open spatial environment. In the current study, we tested female and male cowbirds in breeding and non-breeding conditions on a touchscreen delayed-match-to-sample task using both spatial and colour stimuli. Our goal was to determine whether sex differences in spatial memory in cowbirds generalizes to all spatial tasks or is task-dependant. Both sexes performed better on the spatial than on the colour touchscreen task. On the spatial task, breeding males outperformed breeding females. On the colour task, females and males did not differ, but females performed better in breeding condition than in non-breeding condition. Although female cowbirds were observed to outperform males on a previous larger-scale spatial task, males performed better than females on a task testing spatial memory in the cowbirds\u27 immediate visual field. Spatial abilities in cowbirds can favour males or females depending on the type of spatial task, as has been observed in mammals, including humans

time dilation effect in an active observer and virtual environment requires apparent motion no dilation for retinal or world motion alone

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Systematic review of prediction models in relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis

The natural history of relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) is variable and prediction of individual prognosis challenging. The inability to reliably predict prognosis at diagnosis has important implications for informed decision making especially in relation to disease modifying therapies. We conducted a systematic review in order to collate, describe and assess the methodological quality of published prediction models in RRMS. We searched Medline, Embase and Web of Science. Two reviewers independently screened abstracts and full text for eligibility and assessed risk of bias. Studies reporting development or validation of prediction models for RRMS in adults were included. Data collection was guided by the checklist for critical appraisal and data extraction for systematic reviews (CHARMS) and applicability and methodological quality assessment by the prediction model risk of bias assessment tool (PROBAST). 30 studies were included in the review. Applicability was assessed as high risk of concern in 27 studies. Risk of bias was assessed as high for all studies. The single most frequently included predictor was baseline EDSS (n = 11). T2 Lesion volume or number and brain atrophy were each retained in seven studies. Five studies included external validation and none included impact analysis. Although a number of prediction models for RRMS have been reported, most are at high risk of bias and lack external validation and impact analysis, restricting their application to routine clinical practice

Randomized trial comparing proactive, high-dose versus reactive, low-dose intravenous iron supplementation in hemodialysis (PIVOTAL) : Study design and baseline data

Background: Intravenous (IV) iron supplementation is a standard maintenance treatment for hemodialysis (HD) patients, but the optimum dosing regimen is unknown. Methods: PIVOTAL (Proactive IV irOn Therapy in hemodiALysis patients) is a multicenter, open-label, blinded endpoint, randomized controlled (PROBE) trial. Incident HD adults with a serum ferritin 700 μg/L and/or TSAT ≥40%) or a reactive, low-dose IV iron arm (iron sucrose administered if ferritin <200 μg/L or TSAT < 20%). We hypothesized that proactive, high-dose IV iron would be noninferior to reactive, low-dose IV iron for the primary outcome of first occurrence of nonfatal myocardial infarction (MI), nonfatal stroke, hospitalization for heart failure or death from any cause. If noninferiority is confirmed with a noninferiority limit of 1.25 for the hazard ratio of the proactive strategy relative to the reactive strategy, a test for superiority will be carried out. Secondary outcomes include infection-related endpoints, ESA dose requirements, and quality-of-life measures. As an event-driven trial, the study will continue until at least 631 primary outcome events have accrued, but the expected duration of follow-up is 2-4 years. Results: Of the 2,589 patients screened across 50 UK sites, 2,141 (83%) were randomized. At baseline, 65.3% were male, the median age was 65 years, and 79% were white. According to eligibility criteria, all patients were on ESA at screening. Prior stroke and MI were present in 8 and 9% of the cohort, respectively, and 44% of patients had diabetes at baseline. Baseline data for the randomized cohort were generally concordant with recent data from the UK Renal Registry. Conclusions: PIVOTAL will provide important information about the optimum dosing of IV iron in HD patients representative of usual clinical practice. Trial Registration: EudraCT number: 2013-002267-25.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

A preliminary investigation to group disparate batches of licit and illicit diazepam tablets using differential scanning calorimetry

Increasing numbers of illicit and unlicensed medicines are in general circulation and regularly seized by the police and other regulatory authorities. Forensic identification of seized tablets tends to focus on visual appearance and chromatographic identification of the contained drug. This process is relatively time consuming and places a strain on forensic laboratories. It was therefore of interest to investigate the possible application of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) as a fast and efficient tool to facilitate the identification of contained drug/s and associated tablet excipients. Sixteen different cases (Cases A to P) of diazepam tablets obtained from Police Scotland were characterised based on visual appearance (colour and manufacturers' logos), physical attributes (size, weight and hardness), drug type, drug quantity (HPLC) and thermal properties (DSC). Raw DSC data was further processed using principal component analysis (PCA) as an objective assessment of the thermograms obtained with a view to statistical grouping of different cases. Cases J/K, M/O and L/P could be paired on visual appearance and Cases B/C/E/G and J/K/L/P on tablet hardness (17–23 and 80–89 N respectively). HPLC indicated that 75% of the cases examined contained diazepam but less than half of these contained the recognised amount (10 mg); Cases B/E/L/P contained phenazepam and J/K contained etizolam. The thermal signatures of individual tablets provided by DSC produced qualitative information about both drugs and excipients, indicating lactose in Cases D/F/H/I/J/K/M/N/O and Emcompress™ in B/E/L/P. In particular, DSC coupled with PCA provided confident groupings of A/C/G, B/E/L/P and H/I/J/K, and specific pairings of B/E, L/P and F/N

Pregnancy insulin, glucose, and BMI contribute to birth outcomes in nondiabetic mothers.

OBJECTIVE: We investigated the effects of normal variations in maternal glycemia on birth size and other birth outcomes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Women in two unselected birth cohorts, one retrospective (n = 3,158) and one prospective (n = 668), underwent an oral glucose challenge at 28 weeks of gestation. In the retrospective study, glycemia was linked to routine birth records. In the prospective study, offspring adiposity was assessed by skinfold thickness from birth to age 24 months. RESULTS: In the retrospective study, within the nondiabetic range (2.1-7.8 mmol/l), each 1 mmol/l rise in the mother's 60-min glucose level was associated with a (mean +/- SEM) 2.1 +/- 0.8% (P = 0.006) rise in absolute risk of assisted vaginal delivery, a 3.4 +/- 0.8% (P 90th centile) was independently related to the mother's fasting glucose (odds ratio 2.61 per +1 mmol/l [95% CI 1.15-5.93]) and prepregnancy BMI (1.10 per +1 kg/m(2) [1.04-1.18]). The mother's higher fasting glycemia (P = 0.004), lower insulin sensitivity (P = 0.01), and lower insulin secretion (P = 0.02) were independently related to greater offspring adiposity at birth. During postnatal follow-up, the correlation between the mother's glycemia and offspring adiposity disappeared by 3 months, whereas prepregnancy BMI was associated with offspring adiposity that was only apparent at 12 and 24 months (both P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Prepregnancy BMI, pregnancy glycemia, insulin sensitivity, and insulin secretion all contribute to offspring adiposity and macrosomia and may be separate targets for intervention to optimize birth outcomes and later offspring health

Long-term pulse wave velocity outcomes with aerobic and resistance training in kidney transplant recipients - A pilot randomised controlled trial

Background This pilot study examined long-term pulse wave velocity (PWV) and peak oxygen uptake (VO2peak) outcomes following a 12-week moderate-intensity aerobic or resistance training programme in kidney transplant recipients. Method Single-blind, bi-centre randomised controlled parallel trial. 42 out of 60 participants completed a 9-month follow-up assessment (Aerobic training = 12, Resistance training = 10 and usual care = 20). Participants completed 12 weeks of twice-weekly supervised aerobic or resistance training. Following the 12-week exercise intervention, participants were transitioned to self-managed community exercise activity using motivational interviewing techniques. Usual care participants received usual encouragement for physical activity during routine clinical appointments in the transplant clinic. PWV, VO2peak, blood pressure and body weight were assessed at 12 weeks and 12 months, and compared to baseline. Results ANCOVA analysis, covarying for baseline values, age, and length of time on dialysis pretransplantation, revealed a significant mean between-group difference in PWV of -1.30 m/ sec (95%CI -2.44 to -0.17, p = 0.03) between resistance training and usual care groups. When comparing the aerobic training and usual care groups at 9-month follow-up, there was a mean difference of -1.05 m/sec (95%CI -2.11 to 0.017, p = 0.05). A significant mean between-group difference in relative VO2peak values of 2.2 ml/kg/min (95% CI 0.37 to 4.03, p = 0.02) when comparing aerobic training with usual care was revealed. There was no significant between group differences in body weight or blood pressure. There were no significant adverse effects associated with the interventions. Conclusions Significant between-group differences in 9-month follow-up PWV existed when comparing resistance exercise intervention with usual care. A long-term between-group difference in VO2peak was only evident when comparing aerobic intervention with usual care. This pilot study, with a small sample size, did not aim to elucidate mechanistic mediators related to the exercise interventions. It is however suggested that a motivational interviewing approach, combined with appropriate transition to community training programmes, could maintain the improvements gained from the 12-week exercise interventions and further research in this area is therefore warranted. 2017 O'Connor et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.sch_phy12pub4670pub