DRINKING PATTERNS AMONG MEDICAL IN-PATIENTS WITH REFERENCE TO MAST CATEGORIES: A COMPARATIVE STUDY

The aim of the study was to describe the drinking patterns and alcohol consumption of patients screened by the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (MAST) in a sample of medical patients from a general hospital of a French-speaking, wine-drinking country. Data were recorded using a structured interview administered to 103 consecutively admitted 20-75-year-old MAST-positive patients and 103 age-matched and sex-matched MAST-negative controls admitted to the same ward. Relevant differences between MAST-positive and MAST-negative patients included the frequent report of recent and total abstinence in MAST-positive patients (23% versus 4% in controls), their tendency to drink alone, and less often during mealtimes, at home, or with family or friends than MAST-negative patients. Alcohol consumption was significantly higher in MAST-positive patients of both sexes with 250 and 270 g per week being the optimal discriminative cut-off level of consumption for men and women, respectively (kappa coefficient, 0.70 and 0.81, respectively). Regular drinking was the predominant drinking status of both MAST-positive and MAST-negative patients. This study suggests that a screening test such as the MAST, developed in an English-speaking country may be useful in a French-speaking, wine-drinking country. The test identified patients with drinking patterns that are culturally abnormal, yet in certain respects similar to those of alcoholic patients from other drinking cultures. These findings therefore emphasize the worldwide relevance of the concept of the alcohol dependence syndrome in addition to the transcultural usefulness of alcoholism screening test

Random walks pertaining to a class of deterministic weighted graphs

In this note, we try to analyze and clarify the intriguing interplay between some counting problems related to specific thermalized weighted graphs and random walks consistent with such graphs

“No research on a dead planet”: preserving the socio-ecological conditions for academia

Despite thousands of higher education institutions (HEIs) having issued Climate Emergency declarations, most academics continue to operate according to ‘business-as-usual’. However, such passivity increases the risk of climate impacts so severe as to threaten the persistence of organized society, and thus HEIs themselves. This paper explores why a maladaptive cognitive-practice gap persists and asks what steps could be taken by members of HEIs to activate the academy. Drawing on insights from climate psychology and sociology, we argue that a process of ‘socially organized denial’ currently exists within universities, leading academics to experience a state of ‘double reality’ that inhibits feelings of accountability and agency, and this is self-reenforcing through the production of ‘pluralistic ignorance.’ We further argue that these processes serve to uphold the cultural hegemony of ‘business-as-usual’ and that this is worsened by the increasing neo-liberalization of modern universities. Escaping these dynamics will require deliberate efforts to break taboos, through frank conversations about what responding to a climate emergency means for universities’ – and individual academics’ – core values and goals

Controlled oxygenated rewarming up to normothermia for pretransplant reconditioning of liver grafts

Controlled oxygenated rewarming (COR) up to 20 degrees C during ex vivo machine perfusion limits reperfusion-induced tissue injury upon graft implantation. Rewarming up to normothermia might add further benefits and provide better prediction of post-transplantation organ function. The effect of 90 minutes of oxygenated machine perfusion with Aqix RS-I after cold storage combined with gentle rewarming up to 20 degrees C (COR20) or 35 degrees C (COR35) was studied in rat livers and compared with cold storage alone (CS, n = 6, resp). Postpreservation recovery was evaluated upon warm reperfusion using an established in vitro system. COR generally resulted in significantly improved energetic recovery, increased bile flow, less activities alanine aminotransferase (ALT) release, and improved histopathology upon reperfusion as compared to only cold-stored livers, without significant differences between COR20 and COR35. Parameters obtained during COR, especially during COR35, also allowed for prediction of hepatic recovery upon reperfusion. For instance, ulterior bile production upon reperfusion was found closely correlated to bile flow observed already during COR35 (R-2=0.91). COR significantly improved liver quality after static cold storage. Elevation of machine perfusion temperature up to 35 degrees C may prove promising to refine ex vivo evaluation of the graft prior to transplantation

Degrees of freedom in social bonds of crested macaque females

Social bonds between group members can affect individual fitness and well-being. While the impact of bond strength is well studied, the consequences of bond predictability and equitability are often overlooked. Similarly, whether bonds reflect short-term contingencies and/or long-term social strategies remains understudied. We investigated these questions in female crested macaques (Macaca nigra), which display a tolerant social style within a nepotistic hierarchical social structure. We analysed the structure of dyadic social bonds by testing whether similarity within dyads - in kinship, dominance and age - predicted the strength, predictability and equitability of bonds. We then tested the value of social bonds by analysing the effect of their characteristics on three fitness-related behaviours: coalitionary support, feeding-in-proximity and aggression. We found that the bond characteristics of females differed substantially from those of other species with comparable data: bonds were of average strength, of moderate endurance and relatively balanced. Stronger bonds were more equitable but less predictable than weaker bonds. Closely-ranked females, but not kin or age peers, had stronger, more predictable and more equitable bonds than others. Coalitionary support was not related to any of the bond characteristics, feeding-in-proximity was positively associated with strength and predictability and aggression was positively linked to strength and equitability. These results highlight the complex picture of the benefits of social bonds in this species. They reflect the degrees of freedom tolerant macaque females can express in their social relationships within their stable social structure, a pattern that may not be given enough consideration in stable nepotistic hierarchical societies. Comparative research is necessary to establish whether these patterns are more general than previously thought or a specific feature of tolerant macaques. Investigating various characteristics of bonds together is paramount in order to appreciate the dynamics of social relationships and to better understand the social components of fitness

Foundations of Digital Arch{\ae}oludology

Digital Archaeoludology (DAL) is a new field of study involving the analysis and reconstruction of ancient games from incomplete descriptions and archaeological evidence using modern computational techniques. The aim is to provide digital tools and methods to help game historians and other researchers better understand traditional games, their development throughout recorded human history, and their relationship to the development of human culture and mathematical knowledge. This work is being explored in the ERC-funded Digital Ludeme Project. The aim of this inaugural international research meeting on DAL is to gather together leading experts in relevant disciplines - computer science, artificial intelligence, machine learning, computational phylogenetics, mathematics, history, archaeology, anthropology, etc. - to discuss the key themes and establish the foundations for this new field of research, so that it may continue beyond the lifetime of its initiating project.Comment: Report on Dagstuhl Research Meeting. Authored/edited by all participants. Appendices by Thierry Depauli

Donor NK and T Cells in the Periphery of Lung Transplant Recipients Contain High Frequencies of Killer Cell Immunoglobulin-Like Receptor-Positive Subsets

Introduction For end-stage lung diseases, double lung transplantation (DLTx) is the ultimate curative treatment option. However, acute and chronic rejection and chronic dysfunction are major limitations in thoracic transplantation medicine. Thus, a better understanding of the contribution of immune responses early after DLTx is urgently needed. Passenger cells, derived from donor lungs and migrating into the recipient periphery, are comprised primarily by NK and T cells. Here, we aimed at characterizing the expression of killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIR) on donor and recipient NK and T cells in recipient blood after DLTx. Furthermore, we investigated the functional status and capacity of donor vs . recipient NK cells. Methods Peripheral blood samples of 51 DLTx recipients were analyzed pre Tx and at T0, T24 and 3wk post Tx for the presence of HLA-mismatched donor NK and T cells, their KIR repertoire as well as activation status using flow cytometry. Results Within the first 3 weeks after DLTx, donor NK and T cells were detected in all patients with a peak at T0. An increase of the KIR2DL/S1-positive subset was found within the donor NK cell repertoire. Moreover, donor NK cells showed significantly higher frequencies of KIR2DL/S1-positive cells (p<0.01) 3wk post DLTx compared to recipient NK cells. This effect was also observed in donor KIR + T cells 3wk after DLTx with higher proportions of KIR2DL/S1 (p<0.05) and KIR3DL/S1 (p<0.01) positive T cells. Higher activation levels of donor NK and T cells (p<0.001) were detected compared to recipient cells via CD25 expression as well as a higher degranulation capacity upon activation by K562 target cells. Conclusion Higher frequencies of donor NK and T cells expressing KIR compared to recipient NK and T cells argue for their origin in the lung as a part of a highly specialized immunocompetent compartment. Despite KIR expression, higher activation levels of donor NK and T cells in the periphery of recipients suggest their pre-activation during the ex situ phase. Taken together, donor NK and T cells are likely to have a regulatory effect in the balance between tolerance and rejection and, hence, graft survival after DLTx

Highly polymorphic microsatellite markers for the assessment of male reproductive skew and genetic variation in Critically Endangered crested macaques (Macaca nigra)

Genetic analyses based on non-invasively collected samples have become an important tool for evolutionary biology and conservation. Crested macaques (Macaca nigra), endemic to Sulawesi, Indonesia, are important for our understanding of primate evolution as Sulawesi macaques represent an exceptional example of primate adaptive radiation. Crested macaques are also Critically Endangered. However, to date we know very little about their genetics. The aim of our study was to find and validate microsatellite markers useful for evolutionary, conservation and other genetic studies on wild crested macaques. Using faecal samples of 176 wild macaques living in the Tangkoko Reserve, Sulawesi, we identified 12 polymorphic microsatellite loci through cross-species PCR amplification with later modification of some of these primers. We tested their suitability by investigating and exploring patterns of paternity, observed heterozygosity and evidence for inbreeding. We assigned paternity to 63 of 65 infants with high confidence. Among cases with solved paternity, we found no evidence of extra-group paternity and natal breeding. We found a relatively steep male reproductive skew B index of 0.330±0.267; mean±SD) and mean alpha paternity of 65% per year with large variation across groups and years (29-100%). Finally, we detected an excess in observed heterozygosity and no evidence of inbreeding across our three study groups, with an observed heterozygosity of 0.766±0.059 and expected heterozygosity of 0.708±0.059, and an inbreeding coefficient of -0.082±0.035. Our results indicate that the selected markers are useful for genetic studies on wild crested macaques, and possible also other Sulawesi and closely related macaques. They further suggest that the Tangkoko population of crested macaques is still genetically variable despite its small size, isolation and the species’ reproductive patterns. This gives us hope that other endangered primate species living in small, isolated populations may also retain a healthy gene pool, at least in the short term

Interaction of central nervous system drugs with synaptosomal transport processes

Interaction of a wide range of central nervous system (CNS) drugs with the transport of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) and norepinephrine (NE) into synaptosomes from cerebral cortex was investigated. By determining the effect on Na,K-ATPase, the interaction of these drugs with the synaptic transport of Na + and K+ was also assessed. Although of different numerical value, the order of potency of the drugs in inhibiting the uptakes of both biogenic amines was comparable. Furthermore, similar inhibition constants were obtained for the low affinity uptake of 5-HT and the uptake of NE. Desipramine and amphetamine strongly inhibited both uptake processes. The narcotic drugs displayed a wide range of inhibitory potency. An exceptionally strong, but not stereospecific, effect was obtained with levorphanol, which inhibited 5-HT uptake with a Ki of 0.7 [mu]M. While methadone and pentazocine had inhibition constants between 20 and 50 [mu]M, morphine, codeine and naloxone were markedly weak inhibitors with Ki, values extending into the mM range. The uptake of both 5-HT and NE was strongly inhibited by quinacrine. Among the drugs investigated, only methadone showed substantial inhibition of synaptosomal Na,K-ATPase. The reversible inhibition of the enzyme by the drug was diminished at concentrations of Na + and K + reflecting synaptic discharge. The drug partially bound to the ouabain site of Na,K-ATPase and also inhibited the Mg-activated component. The feasibility and experimental conditions were established for using a modified crude mitochondrial fraction as synaptosomal preparation to study transport processes in general and the uptake of biogenic amines in particular.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/21656/1/0000040.pd