40,000 memories in young teenagers: Psychometric properties of the Autobiographical Memory Test in a UK cohort study

Although the Autobiographical Memory Test (AMT) is widely used its psychometric properties have rarely been investigated. This paper utilises data gathered from a 10-item written version of the AMT, completed by 5792 adolescents participating in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, to examine the psychometric properties of the measure. The results show that the scale derived from responses to the AMT operates well over a wide range of scores, consistent with the aim of deriving a continuous measure of over-general memory. There was strong evidence of group differences in terms of gender, low negative mood, and IQ, and these were in agreement when comparing an item response theory (IRT) approach with that based on a sum score. One advantage of the IRT model is the ability to assess and consequently allow for differential item functioning. This additional analysis showed evidence of response bias for both gender and mood, resulting in attenuation in the mean differences in AMT across these groups. Implications of the findings for the use of the AMT measure in different samples are discussed

Structures of EccB\u3csub\u3e1\u3c/sub\u3e and EccD\u3csub\u3e1\u3c/sub\u3e from the Core Complex of the Mycobacterial ESX-1 Type VII Secretion System

Background: The ESX-1 type VII secretion system is an important determinant of virulence in pathogenic mycobacteria, including Mycobacterium tuberculosis. This complicated molecular machine secretes folded proteins through the mycobacterial cell envelope to subvert the host immune response. Despite its important role in disease very little is known about the molecular architecture of the ESX-1 secretion system. Results: This study characterizes the structures of the soluble domains of two conserved core ESX-1 components – EccB1 and EccD1. The periplasmic domain of EccB1 consists of 4 repeat domains and a central domain, which together form a quasi 2-fold symmetrical structure. The repeat domains of EccB1 are structurally similar to a known peptidoglycan binding protein suggesting a role in anchoring the ESX-1 system within the periplasmic space. The cytoplasmic domain of EccD1has a ubiquitin-like fold and forms a dimer with a negatively charged groove. Conclusions: These structures represent a major step towards resolving the molecular architecture of the entire ESX-1 assembly and may contribute to ESX-1 targeted tuberculosis intervention strategies

Accelerated volume loss in glacier ablation zones of NE Greenland, Little Ice Age to present

Mountain glaciers at the periphery of the Greenland ice sheet are a crucial freshwater and sediment source to the North Atlantic and strongly impact Arctic terrestrial, fjord, and coastal biogeochemical cycles. In this study we mapped the extent of 1,848 mountain glaciers in NE Greenland at the Little Ice Age. We determined area and volume changes for the time periods Little Ice Age to 1980s and 1980s to 2014 and equilibrium line altitudes. There was at least 172.76 ± 34.55‐km3 volume lost between 1910 and 1980s, that is, a rate of 2.61 ± 0.52 km3/year. Between 1980s and 2014 the volume lost was 90.55 ± 18.11 km3, that is, a rate of 3.22 ± 0.64 km3/year, implying an increase of ~23% in the rate of ice volume loss. Overall, at least ~7% of mass loss from Greenland mountain glaciers and ice caps has come from the NE sector

Accelerated volume loss in glacier ablation zones of NE Greenland, Little Ice Age to present

Mountain glaciers at the periphery of the Greenland ice sheet are a crucial freshwater and sediment source to the North Atlantic and strongly impact Arctic terrestrial, fjord, and coastal biogeochemical cycles. In this study we mapped the extent of 1,848 mountain glaciers in NE Greenland at the Little Ice Age. We determined area and volume changes for the time periods Little Ice Age to 1980s and 1980s to 2014 and equilibrium line altitudes. There was at least 172.76 ± 34.55‐km3 volume lost between 1910 and 1980s, that is, a rate of 2.61 ± 0.52 km3/year. Between 1980s and 2014 the volume lost was 90.55 ± 18.11 km3, that is, a rate of 3.22 ± 0.64 km3/year, implying an increase of ~23% in the rate of ice volume loss. Overall, at least ~7% of mass loss from Greenland mountain glaciers and ice caps has come from the NE sector

Outcome Measures for Central Nervous System Evaluation in Myotonic Dystrophy Type 1 May Be Confounded by Deficits in Motor Function or Insight

Background: Central nervous system involvement in myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) is associated with cognitive deficits, impaired social performance and excessive somnolence, which greatly impact quality of life. With the advent of clinical trials in DM1, there is a pressing need to identify outcome measures for quantification of central symptoms that are feasible and valid. In this context, we sought to evaluate neuropsychological and self-reported measures currently recommended by expert consensus, with particular reference to their specificity for central nervous system involvement in a moderate-sized DM1 cohort.Methods: Forty-five adults with DM1 and 20 controls completed neuropsychology assessments and symptom questionnaires. Those without contraindication also underwent MRI brain, from which global gray matter volume and white matter lesion volume were quantified. CTG repeat was measured by small pool PCR, and was screened for the presence of variant repeat sequences.Results: The neuropsychology test battery was well tolerated and detected impairment across various domains in the DM1 group vs. controls. Large effect sizes in the Stroop and Trail Making Tests were however attenuated by correction for basic speed, which could be influenced by dysarthria and upper limb weakness, respectively. Low mood was strongly associated with increased self-reporting of central symptoms, including cognitive impairment. Conversely, self-reported cognitive impairment did not generally predict poorer performance in neuropsychology assessments, and there was a trend toward greater self-reporting of low mood and cognitive problems in those with milder white matter change on MRI. Global gray matter volume correlated with performance in several neuropsychology assessments in a multivariate model with age and sex, while white matter lesion volume was associated with executive dysfunction reported by a proxy. Screening for variant repeats was positive in three individuals, who reported mild muscle symptoms.Conclusions: Identification of outcome measures with good specificity for brain involvement in DM1 is challenging, since complex cognitive assessments may be compromised by peripheral muscle weakness and self-reported questionnaires may be influenced by mood and insight. This highlights the need for further large, longitudinal studies to identify and validate objective measures, which may include imaging biomarkers and cognitive measures not influenced by motor speed

Film remakes, the black sheep of translation

Film remakes have often been neglected by translation studies in favour of other forms of audiovisual translation such as subtitling and dubbing. Yet, as this article will argue, remakes are also a form of cinematic translation. Beginning with a survey of previous, ambivalent approaches to the status of remakes, it proposes that remakes are multimodal, adaptive translations: they translate the many modes of the film being remade and offer a reworking of that source text. The multimodal nature of remakes is explored through a reading of Breathless, Jim McBride's 1983 remake of Jean-Luc Godard's À bout de souffle (1959), which shows how remade films may repeat the narrative of, but differ on multiple levels from, their source films. Due to the collaborative nature of film production, remakes involve multiple agents of translation. As such, remakes offer an expanded understanding of audiovisual translation

Severe Acute Respiratory Infection-Preparedness: Protocol for a Multicenter Prospective Cohort Study of Viral Respiratory Infections

OBJECTIVES: Respiratory virus infections cause significant morbidity and mortality ranging from mild uncomplicated acute respiratory illness to severe complications, such as acute respiratory distress syndrome, multiple organ failure, and death during epidemics and pandemics. We present a protocol to systematically study patients with severe acute respiratory infection (SARI), including severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, due to respiratory viral pathogens to evaluate the natural history, prognostic biomarkers, and characteristics, including hospital stress, associated with clinical outcomes and severity. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: Multicenter cohort of patients admitted to an acute care ward or ICU from at least 15 hospitals representing diverse geographic regions across the United States. PATIENTS: Patients with SARI caused by infection with respiratory viruses that can cause outbreaks, epidemics, and pandemics. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Measurements include patient demographics, signs, symptoms, and medications; microbiology, imaging, and associated tests; mechanical ventilation, hospital procedures, and other interventions; and clinical outcomes and hospital stress, with specimens collected on days 0, 3, and 7-14 after enrollment and at discharge. The primary outcome measure is the number of consecutive days alive and free of mechanical ventilation (VFD) in the first 30 days after hospital admission. Important secondary outcomes include organ failure-free days before acute kidney injury, shock, hepatic failure, disseminated intravascular coagulation, 28-day mortality, adaptive immunity, as well as immunologic and microbiologic outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: SARI-Preparedness is a multicenter study under the collaboration of the Society of Critical Care Medicine Discovery, Resilience Intelligence Network, and National Emerging Special Pathogen Training and Education Center, which seeks to improve understanding of prognostic factors associated with worse outcomes and increased resource utilization. This can lead to interventions to mitigate the clinical impact of respiratory virus infections associated with SARI

International meta-analysis of PTSD genome-wide association studies identifies sex- and ancestry-specific genetic risk loci.

The risk of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following trauma is heritable, but robust common variants have yet to be identified. In a multi-ethnic cohort including over 30,000 PTSD cases and 170,000 controls we conduct a genome-wide association study of PTSD. We demonstrate SNP-based heritability estimates of 5-20%, varying by sex. Three genome-wide significant loci are identified, 2 in European and 1 in African-ancestry analyses. Analyses stratified by sex implicate 3 additional loci in men. Along with other novel genes and non-coding RNAs, a Parkinson's disease gene involved in dopamine regulation, PARK2, is associated with PTSD. Finally, we demonstrate that polygenic risk for PTSD is significantly predictive of re-experiencing symptoms in the Million Veteran Program dataset, although specific loci did not replicate. These results demonstrate the role of genetic variation in the biology of risk for PTSD and highlight the necessity of conducting sex-stratified analyses and expanding GWAS beyond European ancestry populations

What Will Happen If We Do Nothing To Control Trachoma: Health Expectancies for Blinding Trachoma in Southern Sudan

Summary measures of population health attempt to express disease burden in terms of a common “currency” and are useful in establishing public health priorities. Disability adjusted life years (DALYs), a health gap measure, have previously been used to estimate burden due to trachoma; however, their methods and results have limitations. This study demonstrates the application of the health expectancies to estimate burden due to trachoma. The study illustrates the future burden associated with doing nothing to control trachoma in Southern Sudan: a substantial proportion of remaining life expectancy spent with trichiasis and low vision or blindness for both men and women, with a disproportionate burden falling on women. The results presented are intuitively meaningful for policy makers and a non-technical audience and compare favourably with other indicators such as mortality and incidence rates or DALYs, which are not generally easily understood. Unless action is taken by further delivery of trachoma control interventions, then populations in Southern Sudan can expect to spend a substantial proportion of their life with low vision or blindness due to trachoma