Mitochondrial DNA variation in Parkinson’s disease: Analysis of “out-of-place” population variants as a risk factor

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), a potential source of mitochondrial dysfunction, has been implicated in Parkinson’s disease (PD). However, many previous studies investigating associations between mtDNA population variation and PD reported inconsistent or contradictory findings. Here, we investigated an alternative hypothesis to determine whether mtDNA variation could play a significant role in PD risk. Emerging evidence suggests that haplogroup-defining mtDNA variants may have pathogenic potential if they occur “out-of-place” on a different maternal lineage. We hypothesized that the mtDNA of PD cases would be enriched for out-of-place variation in genes encoding components of the oxidative phosphorylation complexes. We tested this hypothesis with a unique dataset comprising whole mitochondrial genomes of 70 African ancestry PD cases, two African ancestry control groups (n = 78 and n = 53) and a replication group of 281 European ancestry PD cases and 140 controls from the Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative cohort. Significantly more African ancestry PD cases had out-of-place variants than controls from the second control group (P < 0.0125), although this association was not observed in the first control group nor the replication group. As the first mtDNA study to include African ancestry PD cases and to explore out-of-place variation in a PD context, we found evidence that such variation might be significant in this context, thereby warranting further replication in larger cohorts

Experimental studies with Strongyloides papillosus in goats

Unusual clinical and pathological observations in the field in goats and sheep suffering from Strongyloides papillosus infection prompted experimental work on this parasite. Goats were infected percutaneously with either single or multiple, low or high levels of S. papillosus. Young goats up to 12 months of age were found to be the most susceptible. Some animals, however, showed substantial resistance to infective doses. Clinical signs included transient diarrhoea, misshapen, elongated faecal pellets terminally, dehydration, anorexia, cachexia, gnashing of teeth, foaming at the mouth, anaemia and nervous signs such as ataxia, a wide-based stance, stupor and nystagmus. A 'pushing syndrome' was seen in 22 % of the animals. The pathological changes are described and included enteritis, status spongiosus in the brain, hepatosis leading to rupture of the liver, nephrosis, pulmonary oedema, interstitial pneumonia and pneumonia. About 6 % of the goats died acutely from fatal hepatic rupture. The development of an acquired immunity was determined. The immunity elicited an allergic skin reaction at the application site of larvae or injection sites of larval metabolites. This immunity, however, could be breached by large doses of larvae. The most profound clinicopathological changes induced by the parasites were an anaemia (most pronounced in the young goats) and hypophosphataemia. Trace element analyses provided evidence of Cu, Mn and possibly Se deficiencies in some goats.The articles have been scanned in colour with a HP Scanjet 5590; 600dpi. Adobe Acrobat v.9 was used to OCR the text and also for the merging and conversion to the final presentation PDF-format.mn201

Modélisation de la qualité des stations et de la croissance individuelle des arbres dans des peuplements purs et mélangés de Pinus brutia dans le nord-est de la Grèce

International audienc

Risk factors for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) death in a population cohort study from the Western Cape Province, South Africa

BACKGROUND. Risk factors for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) death in sub-Saharan Africa and the effects of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and tuberculosis on COVID-19 outcomes are unknown. METHODS. We conducted a population cohort study using linked data from adults attending public-sector health facilities in the Western Cape, South Africa. We used Cox proportional hazards models, adjusted for age, sex, location, and comorbidities, to examine the associations between HIV, tuberculosis, and COVID-19 death from 1 March to 9 June 2020 among (1) public-sector “active patients” (≥1 visit in the 3 years before March 2020); (2) laboratory-diagnosed COVID-19 cases; and (3) hospitalized COVID-19 cases. We calculated the standardized mortality ratio (SMR) for COVID-19, comparing adults living with and without HIV using modeled population estimates. RESULTS. Among 3 460 932 patients (16% living with HIV), 22 308 were diagnosed with COVID-19, of whom 625 died. COVID- 19 death was associated with male sex, increasing age, diabetes, hypertension, and chronic kidney disease. HIV was associated with COVID-19 mortality (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 2.14; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.70–2.70), with similar risks across strata of viral loads and immunosuppression. Current and previous diagnoses of tuberculosis were associated with COVID-19 death (aHR, 2.70 [95% CI, 1.81–4.04] and 1.51 [95% CI, 1.18–1.93], respectively). The SMR for COVID-19 death associated with HIV was 2.39 (95% CI, 1.96–2.86); population attributable fraction 8.5% (95% CI, 6.1–11.1). CONCLUSIONS. While our findings may overestimate HIV- and tuberculosis-associated COVID-19 mortality risks due to residual confounding, both living with HIV and having current tuberculosis were independently associated with increased COVID-19 mortality. The associations between age, sex, and other comorbidities and COVID-19 mortality were similar to those in other settings.The Western Cape Provincial Health Data Centre from the Western Cape Department of Health, the US National Institutes for Health (grant numbers R01 HD0804, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the United States Agency for International Development and the Wellcome Trust.https://academic.oup.com/cid/am2023Veterinary Tropical Disease

Emprego de um modelo de crescimento e produção em povoamentos desbastados de eucalipto The use of a growth and yield model in thinned eucalypt stands

O presente estudo teve como objetivo avaliar a aplicabilidade do modelo de Clutter em povoamentos desbastados de eucalipto. Esta pesquisa foi desenvolvida com dados da empresa Copener Florestal Ltda., atualmente Bahia Pulp, no Município de Alagoinhas, BA. Os dados utilizados fazem parte de um experimento de desbaste implantado em povoamentos de eucalipto, empregando-se o esquema de blocos casualizados constituídos de quatro tratamentos e repetidos em três locais diferentes, perfazendo 48 parcelas com área média de 2.600 m² cada uma. As parcelas foram medidas aos 27, 40, 50, 58, 61 e 76 meses de idade, e aos 58 meses realizou-se o desbaste. Para ajuste do modelo, foi empregado o sistema de equações simultâneas, que utiliza informações do povoamento referentes a área basal, volume, idade e índice de local. A partir do ajuste do modelo, elaborou-se uma tabela de produção de densidade variável e determinou-se a idade técnica de corte em diferentes capacidades produtivas. Realizaram-se simulações na tabela de produção de regimes de desbaste. Concluiu-se que o modelo de Clutter foi eficiente para predizer a produção atual e futura dos povoamentos desbastados de eucalipto, mostrando-se útil na análise de alternativas de manejo, como a determinação da idade técnica de desbaste, de diferentes índices de local e regimes de desbaste.<br>The objective of the present study was to evaluate the applicability of the Clutter model in thinned eucalypt stands. The study was developed with data from the Copener Florestal, Bahia Pulp Enterprise, located in the municipality of Alagoinhas, Bahia, Brazil. Data came from a thinning experiment established in eucalypt stands using a randomized block design with four treatments and three repetitions, each one in a different place, totaling 48 plots with a mean area of 2,600 m² each. The plots were measured at 27, 40, 50, 58, 61 and 76 months of age, and the thinning was carried out at 58 months. For model adjustment, a system of simultaneous equations was used with stand information such as basal area, volume, age and site index. From the model adjustment, a yield table with variable density was built, and the technical cutting age was determined for various thinning intensities. Simulations were carried out with the yield table. It was concluded that the Clutter model was efficient to predict the present and future yields of the thinned eucalypt stands, showing its usefulness in the analysis of alternative managements, such as the technical cutting age determination for various site indexes and thinning intensities

An Ecocritical Reading of Pieter Fourie's Die Koggelaar

Please follow the DOI link at the top of this record to navigate to the official published version of this article.Pieter Fourie’s Die Koggelaar (1988) is an important play in his oeuvre and one which has been commented on and discussed by various theorists. Most of these discussions focused on Boet Cronje as the protagonist of the play and foregrounded the themes of racism, chauvinism and Afrikaner nationalism in the late eighties as depicted in this play. In my ecocritical reading of this play I move away from a human-centred approach and try to show rather how the characters in this play stand in a special relationship to the Karoo landscape, animals, earth and God; i.e. the interactions and interdependence of the various “worlds” are highlighted. Opsomming Pieter Fourie se Die Koggelaar (1988), is ’n belangrike drama in sy oeuvre en een wat talle teoretici reeds geresenseer en bespreek het. Die meeste van hierdie besprekings het gefokus op Boet Cronje as die protagonis in hierdie drama en het hoofsaaklik die temas van rassisme, chauvinisme en Afrikanernasionalisme, soos uitgebeeld in hierdie drama, ondersoek. In my ekokritiese lesing van die drama beweeg ek weg van ‘n oorwegend mens-gesentreerde benadering en probeer eerder aantoon dat die karakters in hierdie drama in ’n spesiale verhouding staan tot die Karoo-landskap, die diere, aarde en God; m.a.w. die interaksies en interafhanklikheid van die onderskeie “wêrelde” word uitgelig.Afrikaans and Theory of Literatur