Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (4th edition)1.

In 2008, we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, this topic has received increasing attention, and many scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Thus, it is important to formulate on a regular basis updated guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Despite numerous reviews, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to evaluate autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. Here, we present a set of guidelines for investigators to select and interpret methods to examine autophagy and related processes, and for reviewers to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of reports that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a dogmatic set of rules, because the appropriateness of any assay largely depends on the question being asked and the system being used. Moreover, no individual assay is perfect for every situation, calling for the use of multiple techniques to properly monitor autophagy in each experimental setting. Finally, several core components of the autophagy machinery have been implicated in distinct autophagic processes (canonical and noncanonical autophagy), implying that genetic approaches to block autophagy should rely on targeting two or more autophagy-related genes that ideally participate in distinct steps of the pathway. Along similar lines, because multiple proteins involved in autophagy also regulate other cellular pathways including apoptosis, not all of them can be used as a specific marker for bona fide autophagic responses. Here, we critically discuss current methods of assessing autophagy and the information they can, or cannot, provide. Our ultimate goal is to encourage intellectual and technical innovation in the field

Nurses' perceptions of aids and obstacles to the provision of optimal end of life care in ICU

Contains fulltext : 172380.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access

The Hunting Behavior and Carnivory of Wild Chimpanzees

The pursuit, capture and consumption of small- and medium-sized vertebrates appear to be typical of all chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) populations, although large variation exists. Red colobus monkeys (Piliocolobus sp.) appear to be the preferred prey, but intensity and frequency of hunting varies from month to month and among populations. Hunting is a predominately male activity and is typically opportunistic, although there is some evidence of searching for prey. The degree of cooperation during hunting, as well as prey selection, varies between East and West African populations and may be related to the way the kill is divided: in West Africa, hunters often collaborate, with kills tending to be shared according to participation, whereas in East Africa, cooperation in hunting is more limited and the kill is typically consumed selfishly, or divided in response to harassment (begging) by others. In some cases it may be shared tactically, trading meat with other males to strengthen alliances. The adaptive function of chimpanzee hunting is not well understood and a variety of hypotheses have been proposed. Ideas that chimpanzees hunt to make up for nutritional shortfalls, or to acquire meat to trade for sex, have failed to find empirical support, while recent work favors nutritional benefits of some kind. Nevertheless, cross-population studies evaluating multiple hypotheses are in their infancy, and there is much to be learned. In particular, very little is known about hunting of non-primates, particularly ungulates, or the impact that variation in levels of hunting, and of carcasses to share and consume, has on patterns of chimpanzee behavior. If one goal of studying this topic is to shed light on the behavioral ecology of hominins, then efforts to understand the diversity of hunting and carnivory in wild chimpanzees are needed