The Biological Standard of Living in the two Germanies.

Physical stature is used as a proxy for the biological standard of living in the two Germanies before and after unification in an analysis of a cross-sectional sample (1998) of adult heights, as well as among military recruits of the 1990s. West Germans tended to be taller than East Germans throughout the period under consideration. Contrary to official proclamations of a classless society, there were substantial social differences in physical stature in East-Germany. Social differences in height were greater in the East among females, and less among males than in the West. The difficulties experienced by the East-German population after 1961 is evident in the increase in social inequality of physical stature thereafter, as well as in the increasing gap relative to the height of the West-German population. After unification, however, there is a tendency for East-German males, but not of females, to catch up with their West-German counterparts

Changes in undergraduate student alcohol consumption as they progress through university

BACKGROUND: Unhealthy alcohol use amongst university students is a major public health concern. Although previous studies suggest a raised level of consumption amongst the UK student population there is little consistent information available about the pattern of alcohol consumption as they progress through university. The aim of the current research was to describe drinking patterns of UK full-time undergraduate students as they progress through their degree course. METHOD: Data were collected over three years from 5895 undergraduate students who began their studies in either 2000 or 2001. Longitudinal data (i.e. Years 1–3) were available from 225 students. The remaining 5670 students all responded to at least one of the three surveys (Year 1 n = 2843; Year 2 n = 2219; Year 3 n = 1805). Results: Students reported consuming significantly more units of alcohol per week at Year 1 than at Years 2 or 3 of their degree. Male students reported a higher consumption of units of alcohol than their female peers. When alcohol intake was classified using the Royal College of Physicians guidelines [1] there was no difference between male and females students in terms of the percentage exceeding recommended limits. Compared to those who were low level consumers students who reported drinking above low levels at Year 1 had at least 10 times the odds of continuing to consume above low levels at year 3. Students who reported higher levels of drinking were more likely to report that alcohol had a negative impact on their studies, finances and physical health. Consistent with the reduction in units over time students reported lower levels of negative impact during Year 3 when compared to Year 1. CONCLUSION: The current findings suggest that student alcohol consumption declines over their undergraduate studies; however weekly levels of consumption at Year 3 remain high for a substantial number of students. The persistence of high levels of consumption in a large population of students suggests the need for effective preventative and treatment interventions for all year groups

Measurement of complement receptor 1 on neutrophils in bacterial and viral pneumonia

BACKGROUND: A reliable prediction of the causative agent of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is not possible based on clinical features. Our aim was to test, whether the measurement of the expression of complement receptors or Fcγ receptors on neutrophils and monocytes would be a useful preliminary test to differentiate between bacterial and viral pneumonia. METHODS: Sixty-eight patients with CAP were studied prospectively. Thirteen patients had pneumococcal pneumonia; 13 patients, influenza A pneumonia; 5 patients, atypical pneumonia, and 37 patients, aetiologically undefined pneumonia. Leukocyte receptor expression was measured within 2 days of hospital admission. RESULTS: The mean expression of complement receptor 1 (CR1) on neutrophils was significantly higher in the patients with pneumococcal pneumonia than in those with influenza A pneumonia. The mean expression of CR1 was also significantly higher in aetiologically undefined pneumonia than in influenza A pneumonia, but there was no difference between pneumococcal and undefined pneumonia. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that the expression of CR1 is higher in classical bacterial pneumonia than in viral pneumonia. Determination of the expression of CR1 may be of value as an additional rapid tool in the aetiological diagnosis, bacterial or viral infection, of CAP. These results are preliminary and more research is needed to assess the utility of this new method in the diagnostics of pneumonia

Abnormal behavior in mice mutant for the Disc1 binding partner, Dixdc1

Disrupted-in-Schizophrenia-1 (DISC1) is a genetic susceptibility locus for major mental illness, including schizophrenia and depression. The Disc1 protein was recently shown to interact with the Wnt signaling protein, DIX domain containing 1 (Dixdc1). Both proteins participate in neural progenitor proliferation dependent on Wnt signaling, and in neural migration independently of Wnt signaling. Interestingly, their effect on neural progenitor proliferation is additive. By analogy to Disc1, mutations in Dixdc1 may lead to abnormal behavior in mice, and to schizophrenia or depression in humans. To explore this hypothesis further, we generated mice mutant at the Dixdc1 locus and analyzed their behavior. Dixdc1−/− mice had normal prepulse inhibition, but displayed decreased spontaneous locomotor activity, abnormal behavior in the elevated plus maze and deficits in startle reactivity. Our results suggest that Dixdc1−/− mice will be a useful tool to elucidate molecular pathophysiology involving Disc1 in major mental illnesses

Net Efficacy Adjusted for Risk (NEAR): A Simple Procedure for Measuring Risk:Benefit Balance

BACKGROUND: Although several mathematical models have been proposed to assess the risk:benefit of drugs in one measure, their use in practice has been rather limited. Our objective was to design a simple, easily applicable model. In this respect, measuring the proportion of patients who respond favorably to treatment without being affected by adverse drug reactions (ADR) could be a suitable endpoint. However, remarkably few published clinical trials report the data required to calculate this proportion. As an approach to the problem, we calculated the expected proportion of this type of patients. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Theoretically, responders without ADR may be obtained by multiplying the total number of responders by the total number of subjects that did not suffer ADR, and dividing the product by the total number of subjects studied. When two drugs are studied, the same calculation may be repeated for the second drug. Then, by constructing a 2 x 2 table with the expected frequencies of responders with and without ADR, and non-responders with and without ADR, the odds ratio and relative risk with their confidence intervals may be easily calculated and graphically represented on a logarithmic scale. Such measures represent "net efficacy adjusted for risk" (NEAR). We assayed the model with results extracted from several published clinical trials or meta-analyses. On comparing our results with those originally reported by the authors, marked differences were found in some cases, with ADR arising as a relevant factor to balance the clinical benefit obtained. The particular features of the adverse reaction that must be weighed against benefit is discussed in the paper. CONCLUSION: NEAR representing overall risk-benefit may contribute to improving knowledge of drug clinical usefulness. As most published clinical trials tend to overestimate benefits and underestimate toxicity, our measure represents an effort to change this trend

Allergic lung inflammation alters neither susceptibility to Streptococcus pneumoniae infection nor inducibility of innate resistance in mice

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Protective host responses to respiratory pathogens are typically characterized by inflammation. However, lung inflammation is not always protective and it may even become deleterious to the host. We have recently reported substantial protection against <it>Streptococcus pneumoniae </it>(pneumococcal) pneumonia by induction of a robust inflammatory innate immune response to an inhaled bacterial lysate. Conversely, the allergic inflammation associated with asthma has been proposed to promote susceptibility to pneumococcal disease. This study sought to determine whether preexisting allergic lung inflammation influences the progression of pneumococcal pneumonia or reduces the inducibilty of protective innate immunity against bacteria.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>To compare the effect of different inflammatory and secretory stimuli on defense against pneumonia, intraperitoneally ovalbumin-sensitized mice were challenged with inhaled pneumococci following exposure to various inhaled combinations of ovalbumin, ATP, and/or a bacterial lysate. Thus, allergic inflammation, mucin degranulation and/or stimulated innate resistance were induced prior to the infectious challenge. Pathogen killing was evaluated by assessing bacterial CFUs of lung homogenates immediately after infection, the inflammatory response to the different conditions was evaluated by measurement of cell counts of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid 18 hours after challenge, and mouse survival was assessed after seven days.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We found no differences in survival of mice with and without allergic inflammation, nor did the induction of mucin degranulation alter survival. As we have found previously, mice treated with the bacterial lysate demonstrated substantially increased survival at seven days, and this was not altered by the presence of allergic inflammation or mucin degranulation. Allergic inflammation was associated with predominantly eosinophilic infiltration, whereas the lysate-induced response was primarily neutrophilic. The presence of allergic inflammation did not significantly alter the neutrophilic response to the lysate, and did not affect the induced bacterial killing within the lungs.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These results suggest that allergic airway inflammation neither promotes nor inhibits progression of pneumococcal lung infection in mice, nor does it influence the successful induction of stimulated innate resistance to bacteria.</p

Curriculum in early childhood education: critical questions about content, coherence, and control

A continuing struggle over curriculum in early childhood education is evident in contemporary research and debate at national and international levels. This reflects the dominant influence of developmental psychology in international discourses, and in policy frameworks that determine approaches to curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment. Focusing on early childhood education, we argue that this struggle generates critical questions about three significant themes within curriculum theory: content, coherence, and control. We outline two positions from which these themes can be understood: Developmental and Educational Psychology and contemporary policy frameworks. We argue that within and between these positions, curriculum content, coherence, and control are viewed in different and sometimes oppositional ways. Following this analysis, we propose that a focus on ‘working theories’ as a third position offers possibilities for addressing some of these continuing struggles, by exploring different implications for how content, coherence, and control might be understood. We conclude that asking critical questions of curriculum in early childhood education is a necessary endeavour to develop alternative theoretical frameworks for understanding the ways in which curriculum can be considered alongside pedagogy, assessment, play, and learning

Synaptic E3 Ligase SCRAPPER in Contextual Fear Conditioning: Extensive Behavioral Phenotyping of Scrapper Heterozygote and Overexpressing Mutant Mice

SCRAPPER, an F-box protein coded by FBXL20, is a subunit of SCF type E3 ubiquitin ligase. SCRAPPER localizes synapses and directly binds to Rab3-interacting molecule 1 (RIM1), an essential factor for synaptic vesicle release, thus it regulates neural transmission via RIM1 degradation. A defect in SCRAPPER leads to neurotransmission abnormalities, which could subsequently result in neurodegenerative phenotypes. Because it is likely that the alteration of neural transmission in Scrapper mutant mice affect their systemic condition, we have analyzed the behavioral phenotypes of mice with decreased or increased the amount of SCRAPPER. We carried out a series of behavioral test batteries for Scrapper mutant mice. Scrapper transgenic mice overexpressing SCRAPPER in the hippocampus did not show any significant difference in every test argued in this manuscript by comparison with wild-type mice. On the other hand, heterozygotes of Scrapper knockout [SCR (+/−)] mice showed significant difference in the contextual but not cued fear conditioning test. In addition, SCR (+/−) mice altered in some tests reflecting anxiety, which implies the loss of functions of SCRAPPER in the hippocampus. The behavioral phenotypes of Scrapper mutant mice suggest that molecular degradation conferred by SCRAPPER play important roles in hippocampal-dependent fear memory formation

Effects of Alcohol on the Acquisition and Expression of Fear Potentiated Startle in Mouse Lines Selectively Bred for High and Low Alcohol Preference

Rationale: Anxiety disorders and alcohol-use disorders frequently co-occur in humans perhaps because alcohol relieves anxiety. Studies in humans and rats indicate that alcohol may have greater anxiolytic effects in organisms with increased genetic propensity for high alcohol consumption. Objectives and Methods: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of moderate doses of alcohol (0.5, 1.0, 1.5 g/kg) on the acquisition and expression of anxiety-related behavior using a fear-potentiated startle (FPS) procedure. Experiments were conducted in two replicate pairs of mouse lines selectively bred for high- (HAP1 and HAP2) and low- (LAP1 and LAP2) alcohol preference; these lines have previously shown a genetic correlation between alcohol preference and FPS (HAP\u3eLAP; Barrenha and Chester 2007). In a control experiment, the effect of diazepam (4.0 mg/kg) on the expression of FPS was tested in HAP2 and LAP2 mice. Results: The 1.5 g/kg alcohol dose moderately decreased the expression of FPS in both HAP lines but not LAP lines. Alcohol had no effect on the acquisition of FPS in any line. Diazepam reduced FPS to a similar extent in both HAP2 and LAP2 mice. Conclusions: HAP mice may be more sensitive to the anxiolytic effects of alcohol than LAP mice when alcohol is given prior to the expression of FPS. These data collected in two pairs of HAP/LAP mouse lines suggest that the anxiolytic response to alcohol in HAP mice may be genetically correlated with their propensity toward high alcohol preference and robust FPS

Combination antibiotic therapy for community-acquired pneumonia

Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is a common and potentially serious illness that is associated with morbidity and mortality. Although medical care has improved during the past decades, it is still potentially lethal. Streptococcus pneumoniae is the most frequent microorganism isolated. Treatment includes mandatory antibiotic therapy and organ support as needed. There are several antibiotic therapy regimens that include β-lactams or macrolides or fluoroquinolones alone or in combination. Combination antibiotic therapy achieves a better outcome compared with monotherapy and it should be given in the following subset of patients with CAP: outpatients with comorbidities and previous antibiotic therapy, nursing home patients with CAP, hospitalized patients with severe CAP, bacteremic pneumococcal CAP, presence of shock, and necessity of mechanical ventilation. Better outcome is associated with combination therapy that includes a macrolide for wide coverage of atypical pneumonia, polymicrobial pneumonia, or resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae. Macrolides have shown different properties other than antimicrobial activity, such as anti-inflammatory properties. Although this evidence comes from observational, most of them retrospective and nonblinded studies, the findings are consistent. Ideally, a prospective, multicenter, randomized trial should be performed to confirm these findings