Influenza-A Viruses in Ducks in Northwestern Minnesota: Fine Scale Spatial and Temporal Variation in Prevalence and Subtype Diversity

Waterfowl from northwestern Minnesota were sampled by cloacal swabbing for Avian Influenza Virus (AIV) from July – October in 2007 and 2008. AIV was detected in 222 (9.1%) of 2,441 ducks in 2007 and in 438 (17.9%) of 2,452 ducks in 2008. Prevalence of AIV peaked in late summer. We detected 27 AIV subtypes during 2007 and 31 during 2008. Ten hemagglutinin (HA) subtypes were detected each year (i.e., H1, 3–8, and 10–12 during 2007; H1-8, 10 and 11 during 2008). All neuraminidase (NA) subtypes were detected during each year of the study. Subtype diversity varied between years and increased with prevalence into September. Predominant subtypes during 2007 (comprising ≥5% of subtype diversity) included H1N1, H3N6, H3N8, H4N6, H7N3, H10N7, and H11N9. Predominant subtypes during 2008 included H3N6, H3N8, H4N6, H4N8, H6N1, and H10N7. Additionally, within each HA subtype, the same predominant HA/NA subtype combinations were detected each year and included H1N1, H3N8, H4N6, H5N2, H6N1, H7N3, H8N4, H10N7, and H11N9. The H2N3 and H12N5 viruses also predominated within the H2 and H12 subtypes, respectively, but only were detected during a single year (H2 and H12 viruses were not detected during 2007 and 2008, respectively). Mallards were the predominant species sampled (63.7% of the total), and 531 AIV were isolated from this species (80.5% of the total isolates). Mallard data collected during both years adequately described the observed temporal and spatial prevalence from the total sample and also adequately represented subtype diversity. Juvenile mallards also were adequate in describing the temporal and spatial prevalence of AIV as well as subtype diversity

An Alternative Yukawa Unified SUSY Scenario

Supersymmetric SO(10) Grand Unified Theories with Yukawa unification represent an appealing possibility for physics beyond the Standard Model. However Yukawa unification is made difficult by large threshold corrections to the bottom mass. Generally one is led to consider models where the sfermion masses are large in order to suppress these corrections. Here we present another possibility, in which the top and bottom GUT scale Yukawa couplings are equal to a component of the charged lepton Yukawa matrix at the GUT scale in a basis where this matrix is not diagonal. Physically, this weak eigenstate Yukawa unification scenario corresponds to the case where the charged leptons that are in the 16 of SO(10) containing the top and bottom quarks mix with their counterparts in another SO(10) multiplet. Diagonalizing the resulting Yukawa matrix introduces mixings in the neutrino sector. Specifically we find that for a large region of parameter space with relatively light sparticles, and which has not been ruled out by current LHC or other data, the mixing induced in the neutrino sector is such that $sin^2 2\Theta_{23} \approx 1$, in agreement with data. The phenomenological implications are analyzed in some detail.Comment: 32 pages, 22 Figure

Corticosteroids for severe sepsis: an evidence-based guide for physicians

Septic shock is characterized by uncontrolled systemic inflammation that contributes to the progression of organ failures and eventually death. There is now ample evidence that the inability of the host to mount an appropriate hypothalamic-pituitary and adrenal axis response plays a major in overwhelming systemic inflammation during infections. Proinflammatory mediators released in the inflamed sites oppose to the anti-inflammatory response, an effect that may be reversed by exogenous corticosteroids. With sepsis, via nongenomic and genomic effects, corticosteroids restore cardiovascular homeostasis, terminate systemic and tissue inflammation, restore organ function, and prevent death. These effects of corticosteroids have been consistently found in animal studies and in most recent frequentist and Bayesian meta-analyses. Corticosteroids should be initiated only in patients with sepsis who require 0.5 μg/kg per minute or more of norepinephrine and should be continued for 5 to 7 days except in patients with poor hemodynamic response after 2 days of corticosteroids and with a cortisol increment of more than 250 nmol/L after a standard adrenocorticotropin hormone (ACTH) test. Hydrocortisone should be given at a daily dose of 200 mg and preferably combined to enteral fludrocortisone at a dose of 50 μg. Blood glucose levels should be kept below 150 mg/dL

Recent developments and strategies in pediatric pharmacology research in the USA

Research in pediatric pharmacology has undergone major changes in the last ten years, with an expansion in both publicly and privately funded activities. A number of pharmacokinetics studies and multi-site controlled efficacy trials have been conducted, so that treatment of children and adolescents can now be better informed and evidence-based. Regulatory financial incentives to industry in return for studies on drugs still covered by patent exclusivity have resulted in a substantial increase in pediatric research funded by pharmaceutical companies. In parallel, public funding has supported research on off-patent medications and other clinical important aspects of treatment, such as comparisons between active treatments, including non-pharmacological interventions. With greater interest by industry in pediatric research, the role of government funding agencies has been redefined to avoid duplication and ensure better integration of efforts and utilization of resources. The present review discusses some of the recent developments in pediatric pharmacology with focus on psychiatric medications

Tracing Changes in Families Who Participated in the Home-Start Parenting Program: Parental Sense of Competence as Mechanism of Change

The present study aimed to (1) determine the long-term effectiveness of Home-Start, a preventive parenting program, and (2) test the hypothesis that changes in maternal sense of competence mediate the program’s effects. Participants were 124 mothers (n = 66 intervention, n = 58 comparison). Four assessments took place during a 1-year period. Latent growth modeling showed that Home-Start enhanced growth in maternal sense of competence and supportive parenting, and led to a decrease in the use of inept discipline. Results of mediational and cross-lagged analyses were consistent with the hypothesized model: Participation in Home-Start was related to the changes in maternal sense of competence, which in turn predicted changes in parenting. The results affirm the importance of directly targeting parental sense of competence in the context of prevention work with parents

Forty years on: clathrin-coated pits continue to fascinate

Clathrin mediated endocytosis (CME) is a fundamental process in cell biology and has been extensively investigated throughout the last several decades. Every cell biologist learns about it at some point during their education and the beauty of this process has led many of us to go deeper and make it the topic of our own research. Great progress has been made towards elucidating the mechanisms of CME and the field is becoming increasingly complex with several hundred new publications every year. This makes it easy to get lost in the vast amount of literature and to forget about the fundamentals of the field, based on the careful interpretation of simple observations made over 40 years ago. A study performed by Anderson, Brown and Goldstein in 1977 (Anderson et al., 1977) is a prime example of this. We therefore want to take a step back and examine how this seminal study was pivotal to our understanding of CME and its progression into ever increasing complexity over the last four decades

Treatment of bone tumours by radiofrequency thermal ablation

Radiofrequency thermal ablation (RFTA) is considered the treatment of choice for osteoid osteomas, in which it has long been safely used. Other benign conditions (chondroblastoma, osteoblastoma, giant cell tumour, etc.) can also be treated by this technique, which is less invasive than traditional surgical procedures. RFTA ablation is also an option for the palliation of localized, painful osteolytic metastatic and myeloma lesions. The reduction in pain improves the quality of life of patients with cancer, who often have multiple morbidities and a limited life expectancy. In some cases, these patients are treated with RFTA because conventional therapies (surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, etc.) have been exhausted. In other cases, it is combined with conventional therapies or other percutaneous treatments, e.g., cementoplasty, offering faster pain relief and bone strengthening. A multidisciplinary approach to the management of these patients is recommended to select the optimal treatment, including orthopaedic surgeons, neurosurgeons, medical and radiation oncologists and interventional radiologists

Facts, values, and Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): an update on the controversies

The Hastings Center, a bioethics research institute, is holding a series of 5 workshops to examine the controversies surrounding the use of medication to treat emotional and behavioral disturbances in children. These workshops bring together clinicians, researchers, scholars, and advocates with diverse perspectives and from diverse fields. Our first commentary in CAPMH, which grew out of our first workshop, explained our method and explored the controversies in general. This commentary, which grows out of our second workshop, explains why informed people can disagree about ADHD diagnosis and treatment. Based on what workshop participants said and our understanding of the literature, we make 8 points. (1) The ADHD label is based on the interpretation of a heterogeneous set of symptoms that cause impairment. (2) Because symptoms and impairments are dimensional, there is an inevitable "zone of ambiguity," which reasonable people will interpret differently. (3) Many other variables, from different systems and tools of diagnosis to different parenting styles and expectations, also help explain why behaviors associated with ADHD can be interpreted differently. (4) Because people hold competing views about the proper goals of psychiatry and parenting, some people will be more, and others less, concerned about treating children in the zone of ambiguity. (5) To recognize that nature has written no bright line between impaired and unimpaired children, and that it is the responsibility of humans to choose who should receive a diagnosis, does not diminish the significance of ADHD. (6) Once ADHD is diagnosed, the facts surrounding the most effective treatment are complicated and incomplete; contrary to some popular wisdom, behavioral treatments, alone or in combination with low doses of medication, can be effective in the long-term reduction of core ADHD symptoms and at improving many aspects of overall functioning. (7) Especially when a child occupies the zone of ambiguity, different people will emphasize different values embedded in the pharmacological and behavioral approaches. (8) Truly informed decision-making requires that parents (and to the extent they are able, children) have some sense of the complicated and incomplete facts regarding the diagnosis and treatment of ADHD

Effects of resuscitation with crystalloid fluids on cardiac function in patients with severe sepsis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The use of hypertonic crystalloid solutions, including sodium chloride and bicarbonate, for treating severe sepsis has been much debated in previous investigations. We have investigated the effects of three crystalloid solutions on fluid resuscitation in severe sepsis patients with hypotension.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Ninety-four severe sepsis patients with hypotension were randomly assigned to three groups. The patients received the following injections within 15 min at initial treatment: Ns group (n = 32), 5 ml/kg normal saline; Hs group (n = 30), with 5 ml/kg 3.5% sodium chloride; and Sb group (n = 32), 5 ml/kg 5% sodium bicarbonate. Cardiac output (CO), systolic blood pressure, mean arterial pressure (MAP), body temperature, heart rate, respiratory rate and blood gases were measured.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>There were no differences among the three groups in CO, MAP, heart rate or respiratory rate during the 120 min trial or the 8 hour follow-up, and no significant differences in observed mortality rate after 28 days. However, improvement of MAP and CO started earlier in the Sb group than in the Ns and Hs groups. Sodium bicarbonate increased the base excess but did not alter blood pH, lactic acid or [HCO₃]^-values; and neither 3.5% hypertonic saline nor 5% sodium bicarbonate altered the Na⁺, K⁺, Ca²⁺or Cl^-levels.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>All three crystalloid solutions may be used for initial volume loading in severe sepsis, and sodium bicarbonate confers a limited benefit on humans with severe sepsis.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>ISRCTN36748319.</p