An Evaluation Of The Effects Of A Leisure Education Curriculum On Deliquents\u27 Motivation, Knowledge, And Behavior Changes Related To Boredom

Adolescents today have more unsupervised and unstructured free time than ever before. Poor decisions by youth during periods of free time may lead to substance abuse, teen pregnancy and juvenile delinquency. The highest frequency of juvenile crime, a major social problem, occurs during the 2-4 hours following the end of the school day. Research has demonstrated the benefits of engaging adolecents in prosocial leisure activity. However, no research has studied the issues of free time and leisure education with a delinquent population. This paper documents the impact of a leisure education curriculum on a population of delinquent youth in a randomized experiment. The delinquent youths who received the leisure education reported higher intrinsic motivation and better use of free time. The delinquent youths also reported improved decision making related to their involvement in healthy, prosocial free time activities. Finally, the improvement in the delinquent youths\u27 motivation influenced a significant decrease in the delinquent youths\u27 proneness to boredom during their free time

Cardiovascular magnetic resonance in patients with pectus excavatum compared with normal controls

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Purpose</p> <p>To assess cardiothoracic structure and function in patients with pectus excavatum compared with control subjects using cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging (CMR).</p> <p>Method</p> <p>Thirty patients with pectus excavatum deformity (23 men, 7 women, age range: 14-67 years) underwent CMR using 1.5-Tesla scanner (Siemens) and were compared to 25 healthy controls (18 men, 7 women, age range 18-50 years). The CMR protocol included cardiac cine images, pulmonary artery flow quantification, time resolved 3D contrast enhanced MR angiography (CEMRA) and high spatial resolution CEMRA. Chest wall indices including maximum transverse diameter, pectus index (PI), and chest-flatness were measured in all subjects. Left and right ventricular ejection fractions (LVEF, RVEF), ventricular long and short dimensions (LD, SD), mid-ventricle myocardial shortening, pulmonary-systemic circulation time, and pulmonary artery flow were quantified.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In patients with pectus excavatum, the pectus index was 9.3 ± 5.0 versus 2.8 ± 0.4 in controls (P < 0.001). No significant differences between pectus excavatum patients and controls were found in LV ejection fraction, LV myocardial shortening, pulmonary-systemic circulation time or pulmonary flow indices. In pectus excavatum, resting RV ejection fraction was reduced (53.9 ± 9.6 versus 60.5 ± 9.5; P = 0.013), RVSD was reduced (P < 0.05) both at end diastole and systole, RVLD was increased at end diastole (P < 0.05) reflecting geometric distortion of the RV due to sternal compression.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Depression of the sternum in pectus excavatum patients distorts RV geometry. Resting RVEF was reduced by 6% of the control value, suggesting that these geometrical changes may influence myocardial performance. Resting LV function, pulmonary circulation times and pulmonary vascular anatomy and perfusion indices were no different to controls.</p

Post-Streptococcal Antibodies Are Associated with Metabolic Syndrome in a Population-Based Cohort

Background: Streptococcal infections are known to trigger autoimmune disorders, affecting millions worldwide. Recently, we found an association between post-streptococcal autoantibodies against Protein Disulphide Isomerase (PDI), an enzyme involved in insulin degradation and insulin resistance. This led us to evaluate associations between post-streptococcal antibodies and metabolic syndrome, as defined by the updated National Cholesterol Education Program definition, 2005. Methods and Findings: Metabolic data (HDL, triglycerides, fasting glucose, blood pressure, waist circumference, BMI, smoking), post-streptococcal antibodies (anti-Streptolysin O (ASO) and anti-PDI), and C-reactive protein (CRP, as a general inflammatory marker), were assessed in 1156 participants of the Wisconsin Sleep Cohort Study. Anti-PDI antibodies were found in 308 participants (26.6%), ASO$100 in 258 (22.3%), and 482 (41.7%) met diagnostic criteria for metabolic syndrome. Anti-PDI antibodies but not ASO were significantly associated with metabolic syndrome [n = 1156, OR 1.463 (95 % CI 1.114, 1.920), p = 0.0062; adjusted for age, gender, education, smoking]. Importantly, the anti-PDI- metabolic syndrome association remained significant after adjusting for CRP and fasting insulin. Conclusions: Post-streptococcal anti-PDI antibodies are associated with metabolic syndrome regardless of fasting insulin and CRP levels. Whereas these data are in line with a growing body of evidence linking infections, immunity an

Strategy Escalation: An emerging paradigm for safe clinical development of T cell gene therapies

Gene therapy techniques are being applied to modify T cells with chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) for therapeutic ends. The versatility of this platform has spawned multiple options for their application with new permutations in strategies continually being invented, a testimony to the creative energies of many investigators. The field is rapidly expanding with immense potential for impact against diverse cancers. But this rapid expansion, like the Big Bang, comes with a somewhat chaotic evolution of its therapeutic universe that can also be dangerous, as seen by recently publicized deaths. Time-honored methods for new drug testing embodied in Dose Escalation that were suitable for traditional inert agents are now inadequate for these novel "living drugs". In the following, I propose an approach to escalating risk for patient exposures with these new immuno-gene therapy agents, termed Strategy Escalation, that accounts for the molecular and biological features of the modified cells and the methods of their administration. This proposal is offered not as a prescriptive but as a discussion framework that investigators may wish to consider in configuring their intended clinical applications

Colon cancer in Luxembourg: a national population-based data report, 1988–1998

BACKGROUND: Over the last two decades time trends in incidence rates of colorectal cancer, changes in the proportions of stage at diagnosis and changes in the anatomic sub-site distribution of colon cancers have been reported in some European countries. In order to determine a strategy for early detection of colon cancer in the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg, all consecutive colon adenocarcinomas diagnosed during the period 1988–1998 at a nation-wide level were reviewed. METHODS: The population-based data of the national Morphologic Tumour Registry report all new high-grade adenomas (i.e. high-grade intraepithelial adenomatous neoplasias) and all consecutive new invasive adenocarcinomas of the colon diagnosed in the central department of pathology. Attention has been focused on variations in incidence, stage, anatomical site distribution and survival rates. Rectal cancers were excluded. RESULTS: Over the study period, 254 new colonic high-grade adenomas and 1379 new invasive adenocarcinomas were found; the crude incidence rates of colon adenocarcinomas grew steadily by 30%. Comparing the two 5-year periods 1988–1992 and 1994–1998, the crude incidence rates of high-grade adenomas (stage 0) rose by 190%, that of stage I cases by 14.3%, stage II cases 12.9% and stage III cases 38.5%, whereas the crude incidence rates of stage IV cases decreased by 11.8%. The high-grade adenoma/adenocarcinoma ratio increased. The right-sided colonic adenocarcinomas in elderly patients (>69 years) increased by 76%. The observed survival rates correlated with tumour stages. The overall observed 5-year survival rate (stage I-IV) was 51 ± 3% (95% confidence interval). CONCLUSION: The increasing incidence rates of colon adenocarcinomas, the persistence of advanced tumour stages (stage III), the mortality rates which remain stable, and the changing trends in the age- and sub-site distribution underline the need for preventive measures at the age of 50 in asymptomatic patients to reduce mortality from colo(rectal) cancer

The genomes of two key bumblebee species with primitive eusocial organization

Background: The shift from solitary to social behavior is one of the major evolutionary transitions. Primitively eusocial bumblebees are uniquely placed to illuminate the evolution of highly eusocial insect societies. Bumblebees are also invaluable natural and agricultural pollinators, and there is widespread concern over recent population declines in some species. High-quality genomic data will inform key aspects of bumblebee biology, including susceptibility to implicated population viability threats. Results: We report the high quality draft genome sequences of Bombus terrestris and Bombus impatiens, two ecologically dominant bumblebees and widely utilized study species. Comparing these new genomes to those of the highly eusocial honeybee Apis mellifera and other Hymenoptera, we identify deeply conserved similarities, as well as novelties key to the biology of these organisms. Some honeybee genome features thought to underpin advanced eusociality are also present in bumblebees, indicating an earlier evolution in the bee lineage. Xenobiotic detoxification and immune genes are similarly depauperate in bumblebees and honeybees, and multiple categories of genes linked to social organization, including development and behavior, show high conservation. Key differences identified include a bias in bumblebee chemoreception towards gustation from olfaction, and striking differences in microRNAs, potentially responsible for gene regulation underlying social and other traits. Conclusions: These two bumblebee genomes provide a foundation for post-genomic research on these key pollinators and insect societies. Overall, gene repertoires suggest that the route to advanced eusociality in bees was mediated by many small changes in many genes and processes, and not by notable expansion or depauperation

Analysis of a viral metagenomic library from 200 m depth in Monterey Bay, California constructed by direct shotgun cloning

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Viruses have a profound influence on both the ecology and evolution of marine plankton, but the genetic diversity of viral assemblages, particularly those in deeper ocean waters, remains poorly described. Here we report on the construction and analysis of a viral metagenome prepared from below the euphotic zone in a temperate, eutrophic bay of coastal California.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We purified viruses from approximately one cubic meter of seawater collected from 200m depth in Monterey Bay, CA. DNA was extracted from the virus fraction, sheared, and cloned with no prior amplification into a plasmid vector and propagated in <it>E. coli </it>to produce the MBv200m library. Random clones were sequenced by the Sanger method. Sequences were assembled then compared to sequences in GenBank and to other viral metagenomic libraries using BLAST analyses.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Only 26% of the 881 sequences remaining after assembly had significant (E ≤ 0.001) BLAST hits to sequences in the GenBank nr database, with most being matches to bacteria (15%) and viruses (8%). When BLAST analysis included environmental sequences, 74% of sequences in the MBv200m library had a significant match. Most of these hits (70%) were to microbial metagenome sequences and only 0.7% were to sequences from viral metagenomes. Of the 121 sequences with a significant hit to a known virus, 94% matched bacteriophages (Families <it>Podo</it>-, <it>Sipho</it>-, and <it>Myoviridae</it>) and 6% matched viruses of eukaryotes in the Family <it>Phycodnaviridae </it>(5 sequences) or the Mimivirus (2 sequences). The largest percentages of hits to viral genes of known function were to those involved in DNA modification (25%) or structural genes (17%). Based on reciprocal BLAST analyses, the MBv200m library appeared to be most similar to viral metagenomes from two other bays and least similar to a viral metagenome from the Arctic Ocean.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Direct cloning of DNA from diverse marine viruses was feasible and resulted in a distribution of virus types and functional genes at depth that differed in detail, but were broadly similar to those found in surface marine waters. Targeted viral analyses are useful for identifying those components of the greater marine metagenome that circulate in the subcellular size fraction.</p

An Insect Herbivore Microbiome with High Plant Biomass-Degrading Capacity

Herbivores can gain indirect access to recalcitrant carbon present in plant cell walls through symbiotic associations with lignocellulolytic microbes. A paradigmatic example is the leaf-cutter ant (Tribe: Attini), which uses fresh leaves to cultivate a fungus for food in specialized gardens. Using a combination of sugar composition analyses, metagenomics, and whole-genome sequencing, we reveal that the fungus garden microbiome of leaf-cutter ants is composed of a diverse community of bacteria with high plant biomass-degrading capacity. Comparison of this microbiome's predicted carbohydrate-degrading enzyme profile with other metagenomes shows closest similarity to the bovine rumen, indicating evolutionary convergence of plant biomass degrading potential between two important herbivorous animals. Genomic and physiological characterization of two dominant bacteria in the fungus garden microbiome provides evidence of their capacity to degrade cellulose. Given the recent interest in cellulosic biofuels, understanding how large-scale and rapid plant biomass degradation occurs in a highly evolved insect herbivore is of particular relevance for bioenergy

Transcriptome characterization of the South African abalone Haliotis midae using sequencing-by-synthesis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Worldwide, the genus <it>Haliotis </it>is represented by 56 extant species and several of these are commercially cultured. Among the six abalone species found in South Africa, <it>Haliotis midae </it>is the only aquacultured species. Despite its economic importance, genomic sequence resources for <it>H. midae</it>, and for abalone in general, are still scarce. Next generation sequencing technologies provide a fast and efficient tool to generate large sequence collections that can be used to characterize the transcriptome and identify expressed genes associated with economically important traits like growth and disease resistance.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>More than 25 million short reads generated by the Illumina Genome Analyzer were <it>de novo </it>assembled in 22,761 contigs with an average size of 260 bp. With a stringent <it>E</it>-value threshold of 10^-10, 3,841 contigs (16.8%) had a BLAST homologous match against the Genbank non-redundant (NR) protein database. Most of these sequences were annotated using the gene ontology (GO) and eukaryotic orthologous groups of proteins (KOG) databases and assigned to various functional categories. According to annotation results, many gene families involved in immune response were identified. Thousands of simple sequence repeats (SSR) and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) were detected. Setting stringent parameters to ensure a high probability of amplification, 420 primer pairs in 181 contigs containing SSR loci were designed.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This data represents the most comprehensive genomic resource for the South African abalone <it>H. midae </it>to date. The amount of assembled sequences demonstrated the utility of the Illumina sequencing technology in the transcriptome characterization of a non-model species. It allowed the development of several markers and the identification of promising candidate genes for future studies on population and functional genomics in <it>H. midae </it>and in other abalone species.</p