Documentation for the CETACEA database of marine mammal literature references

This documentation for the CETACEA database of marine mammal literature references updates and expands the original work by Watkins, Bird, Moore, and Tyack 1988 (Reference Database Marine Mammal Literature, Technical Report WHOI-88-2). The CETACEA database is a comprehensive index of literature references used to file, store, search, retrieve, and format the data on marine animals. Organization of the references is complementary to features developed by William E. Schevill for his library of older cetacea literature, having direct association of species with over 300 indexed subjects, and with observation dates, locations, etc. This documentation describes the operation of the database (360 records), including indexing, sorting, and retrieval information developed though continued use of these systems. SPECIES and SUBJECT HEADING lists with their codes have been updated. Other databases have also developed around these indexing and sorting strategies to complement the CETACEA database, including databases of animal sounds for both the recordng data and the acoustic spectral information stored in libraries of digital sound cuts.Funding was provided by the Office of Naval Research through Contract Number N00014-88-K-0273

Attitudes and Behaviors Related to Provocative Clothing Advertisements

Today\u27s apparel market is characterized by fierce competition and consumers are exposed to a multitude of advertising stimuli each day. Some apparel companies develop provocative advertising campaigns as a way to gain public attention. Provocative images pervade every facet of mass communications and it is such a common component in advertising that often its existence goes without saying (Heller, 2000). Sexual imagery is an effective way of attracting the attention of consumers (Vezina & Paul, 1997) and implementing sexual appeals leads to better memory, attitudes, and purchase intentions (Putrevu, 2008)

RAHI-SATHI Indo-U.S. Collaboration: The Evolution of a Trainee-Led Twinning Model in Global Health Into a Multidisciplinary Collaborative Program

BACKGROUND: In recent years there has been a surge in the number of global health programs operated by academic institutions. However, most of the existing programs describe partnerships that are primarily faculty-driven and supported by extramural funding. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: Research and Advocacy for Health in India (RAHI, or pathfinder in Hindi) and Support and Action Towards Health-Equity in India (SATHI, or partnership in Hindi) are 2 interconnected, collaborative efforts between the University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS) and Charutar Arogya Mandal (CAM), a medical college and a tertiary care center in rural western India. The RAHI-SATHI program is the culmination of a series of student/trainee-led research and capacity strengthening initiatives that received institutional support in the form of faculty mentorship and seed funding. RAHI-SATHI\u27s trainee-led twinning approach overcomes traditional barriers faced by global health programs. Trainees help mitigate geographical barriers by acting as a bridge between members from different institutions, garner cultural insight through their ability to immerse themselves in a community, and overcome expertise limitations through pre-planned structured mentorship from faculty of both institutions. Trainees play a central role in cultivating trust among the team members and, in the process, they acquire personal leadership skills that may benefit them in their future careers. CONCLUSION: This paradigm of trainee-led twinning partnership promotes sustainability in an uncertain funding climate and provides a roadmap for conducting foundational work that is essential for the development of a broad, university-wide global health program

Recent research on Gulf War illness and other health problems in veterans of the 1991 Gulf War: Effects of toxicant exposures during deployment

Veterans of Operation Desert Storm/Desert Shield - the 1991 Gulf War (GW) - are a unique population who returned from theater with multiple health complaints and disorders. Studies in the U.S. and elsewhere have consistently concluded that approximately 25-32% of this population suffers from a disorder characterized by symptoms that vary somewhat among individuals and include fatigue, headaches, cognitive dysfunction, musculoskeletal pain, and respiratory, gastrointestinal and dermatologic complaints. Gulf War illness (GWI) is the term used to describe this disorder. In addition, brain cancer occurs at increased rates in subgroups of GW veterans, as do neuropsychological and brain imaging abnormalities. Chemical exposures have become the focus of etiologic GWI research because nervous system symptoms are prominent and many neurotoxicants were present in theater, including organophosphates (OPs), carbamates, and other pesticides; sarin/cyclosarin nerve agents, and pyridostigmine bromide (PB) medications used as prophylaxis against chemical warfare attacks. Psychiatric etiologies have been ruled out. This paper reviews the recent literature on the health of 1991 GW veterans, focusing particularly on the central nervous system and on effects of toxicant exposures. In addition, it emphasizes research published since 2008, following on an exhaustive review that was published in that year that summarizes the prior literature (RACGWI, 2008). We conclude that exposure to pesticides and/or to PB are causally associated with GWI and the neurological dysfunction in GW veterans. Exposure to sarin and cyclosarin and to oil well fire emissions are also associated with neurologically based health effects, though their contribution to development of the disorder known as GWI is less clear. Gene-environment interactions are likely to have contributed to development of GWI in deployed veterans. The health consequences of chemical exposures in the GW and other conflicts have been called "toxic wounds" by veterans. This type of injury requires further study and concentrated treatment research efforts that may also benefit other occupational groups with similar exposure-related illnesses

Genome-Wide Linkage Analysis of Global Gene Expression in Loin Muscle Tissue Identifies Candidate Genes in Pigs

BACKGROUND: Nearly 6,000 QTL have been reported for 588 different traits in pigs, more than in any other livestock species. However, this effort has translated into only a few confirmed causative variants. A powerful strategy for revealing candidate genes involves expression QTL (eQTL) mapping, where the mRNA abundance of a set of transcripts is used as the response variable for a QTL scan. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We utilized a whole genome expression microarray and an F(2) pig resource population to conduct a global eQTL analysis in loin muscle tissue, and compared results to previously inferred phenotypic QTL (pQTL) from the same experimental cross. We found 62 unique eQTL (FDR <10%) and identified 3 gene networks enriched with genes subject to genetic control involved in lipid metabolism, DNA replication, and cell cycle regulation. We observed strong evidence of local regulation (40 out of 59 eQTL with known genomic position) and compared these eQTL to pQTL to help identify potential candidate genes. Among the interesting associations, we found aldo-keto reductase 7A2 (AKR7A2) and thioredoxin domain containing 12 (TXNDC12) eQTL that are part of a network associated with lipid metabolism and in turn overlap with pQTL regions for marbling, % intramuscular fat (% fat) and loin muscle area on Sus scrofa (SSC) chromosome 6. Additionally, we report 13 genomic regions with overlapping eQTL and pQTL involving 14 local eQTL. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Results of this analysis provide novel candidate genes for important complex pig phenotypes

Ultra-deep sequencing reveals the mutational landscape of classical Hodgkin lymphoma

UNLABELLED: The malignant Hodgkin and Reed Sternberg (HRS) cells of classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL) are scarce in affected lymph nodes, creating a challenge to detect driver somatic mutations. As an alternative to cell purification techniques, we hypothesized that ultra-deep exome sequencing would allow genomic study of HRS cells, thereby streamlining analysis and avoiding technical pitfalls. To test this, 31 cHL tumor/normal pairs were exome sequenced to approximately 1,000× median depth of coverage. An orthogonal error-corrected sequencing approach verified \u3e95% of the discovered mutations. We identified mutations in genes novel to cHL including: CDH5 and PCDH7, novel stop gain mutations in IL4R, and a novel pattern of recurrent mutations in pathways regulating Hippo signaling. As a further application of our exome sequencing, we attempted to identify expressed somatic single-nucleotide variants (SNV) in single-nuclei RNA sequencing (snRNA-seq) data generated from a patient in our cohort. Our snRNA analysis identified a clear cluster of cells containing a somatic SNV identified in our deep exome data. This cluster has differentially expressed genes that are consistent with genes known to be dysregulated in HRS cells (e.g., PIM1 and PIM3). The cluster also contains cells with an expanded B-cell clonotype further supporting a malignant phenotype. This study provides proof-of-principle that ultra-deep exome sequencing can be utilized to identify recurrent mutations in HRS cells and demonstrates the feasibility of snRNA-seq in the context of cHL. These studies provide the foundation for the further analysis of genomic variants in large cohorts of patients with cHL. SIGNIFICANCE: Our data demonstrate the utility of ultra-deep exome sequencing in uncovering somatic variants in Hodgkin lymphoma, creating new opportunities to define the genes that are recurrently mutated in this disease. We also show for the first time the successful application of snRNA-seq in Hodgkin lymphoma and describe the expression profile of a putative cluster of HRS cells in a single patient

Are Voluntary Agreements Better? Evidence from Baseball Arbitration

This paper empirically examines the widespread belief that voluntarily negotiated agreements produce better long-run relationships than third-party imposed settlements, such as arbitrator decisions or court judgments. Two key outcomes are analyzed – subsequent player performance and the durability of club-player relationship. Major League Baseball provides a compelling setting for these analyses because individual performance is well measured, there is the possibility of relationship breakdown, and both voluntary and imposed settlements are routinely used. While the results clearly show that a third-party imposed settlement is not better than a voluntary one, the evidence in support of the widespread belief is mixed

Haploinsufficiency of PRR12 causes a spectrum of neurodevelopmental, eye, and multisystem abnormalities

PURPOSE: Proline Rich 12 (PRR12) is a gene of unknown function with suspected DNA-binding activity, expressed in developing mice and human brains. Predicted loss-of-function variants in this gene are extremely rare, indicating high intolerance of haploinsufficiency. METHODS: Three individuals with intellectual disability and iris anomalies and truncating de novo PRR12 variants were described previously. We add 21 individuals with similar PRR12 variants identified via matchmaking platforms, bringing the total number to 24. RESULTS: We observed 12 frameshift, 6 nonsense, 1 splice-site, and 2 missense variants and one patient with a gross deletion involving PRR12. Three individuals had additional genetic findings, possibly confounding the phenotype. All patients had developmental impairment. Variable structural eye defects were observed in 12/24 individuals (50%) including anophthalmia, microphthalmia, colobomas, optic nerve and iris abnormalities. Additional common features included hypotonia (61%), heart defects (52%), growth failure (54%), and kidney anomalies (35%). PrediXcan analysis showed that phecodes most strongly associated with reduced predicted PRR12 expression were enriched for eye- (7/30) and kidney- (4/30) phenotypes, such as wet macular degeneration and chronic kidney disease. CONCLUSION: These findings support PRR12 haploinsufficiency as a cause for a novel disorder with a wide clinical spectrum marked chiefly by neurodevelopmental and eye abnormalities

Recovery of a US Endangered Fish

BACKGROUND: More fish have been afforded US Endangered Species Act protection than any other vertebrate taxonomic group, and none has been designated as recovered. Shortnose sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum) occupy large rivers and estuaries along the Atlantic coast of North America, and the species has been protected by the US Endangered Species Act since its enactment. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Data on the shortnose sturgeon in the Hudson River (New York to Albany, NY, USA) were obtained from a 1970s population study, a population and fish distribution study we conducted in the late 1990s, and a fish monitoring program during the 1980s and 1990s. Population estimates indicate a late 1990s abundance of about 60,000 fish, dominated by adults. The Hudson River population has increased by more than 400% since the 1970s, appears healthy, and has attributes typical for a long-lived species. Our population estimates exceed the government and scientific population recovery criteria by more than 500%, we found a positive trend in population abundance, and key habitats have remained intact despite heavy human river use. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Scientists and legislators have called for changes in the US Endangered Species Act, the Act is being debated in the US Congress, and the Act has been characterized as failing to recover species. Recovery of the Hudson River population of shortnose sturgeon suggests the combination of species and habitat protection with patience can yield successful species recovery, even near one of the world's largest human population centers

Focus on Function – a randomized controlled trial comparing two rehabilitation interventions for young children with cerebral palsy

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Children with cerebral palsy receive a variety of long-term physical and occupational therapy interventions to facilitate development and to enhance functional independence in movement, self-care, play, school activities and leisure. Considerable human and financial resources are directed at the "intervention" of the problems of cerebral palsy, although the available evidence supporting current interventions is inconclusive. A considerable degree of uncertainty remains about the appropriate therapeutic approaches to manage the habilitation of children with cerebral palsy. The primary objective of this project is to conduct a multi-site randomized clinical trial to evaluate the efficacy of a task/context-focused approach compared to a child-focused remediation approach in improving performance of functional tasks and mobility, increasing participation in everyday activities, and improving quality of life in children 12 months to 5 years of age who have cerebral palsy.</p> <p>Method/Design</p> <p>A multi-centred randomized controlled trial research design will be used. Children will be recruited from a representative sample of children attending publicly-funded regional children's rehabilitation centers serving children with disabilities in Ontario and Alberta in Canada. Target sample size is 220 children with cerebral palsy aged 12 months to 5 years at recruitment date. Therapists are randomly assigned to deliver either a context-focused approach or a child-focused approach. Children follow their therapist into their treatment arm. Outcomes will be evaluated at baseline, after 6 months of treatment and at a 3-month follow-up period. Outcomes represent the components of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health, including body function and structure (range of motion), activities (performance of functional tasks, motor function), participation (involvement in formal and informal activities), and environment (parent perceptions of care, parental empowerment).</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>This paper presents the background information, design and protocol for a randomized controlled trial comparing a task/context-focused approach to a child-focused remediation approach in improving functional outcomes for young children with cerebral palsy.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>[clinical trial registration #: NCT00469872]</p