Comparison of trends in butterfly populations between monitoring schemes

Butterflies are an important indicator of the impacts of environmental change. Butterfly monitoring schemes (BMS) have provided national and Europe-wide trends in their abundance and been widely used for research. Most schemes sample sites that are self-selected by contributors and therefore tend to cover locations that are rich in butterflies. To provide a more representative assessment of butterfly populations, the wider countryside butterfly survey (WCBS) was developed with a stratified-random sample of survey sites across the UK. We compare butterfly trends from the WCBS locations against those measured from traditional butterfly transects which are typically located in areas of good quality semi-natural habitats. Across the 26 species analysed, there was a significant positive relationship between trends measured from the two schemes between 2009 and 2013, the period when both schemes were operating fully. There was a tendency (17 out of 26 species analysed) for these changes to be greater within WCBS compared to traditional BMS transects, although this effect was not consistent across comparisons between pairs of consecutive years. When assessing these individual year-to-year changes, there was however a significant correlation between the two schemes in all cases. Over relatively short time periods, weather patterns are likely to dominate butterfly population fluctuations and lead to comparable trends across monitoring schemes. Over longer time periods, differences in land management may affect habitat condition differently for protected areas versus the wider countryside and it is therefore important to maintain comprehensive butterfly monitoring programmes to detect and interpret such effects

Can older people remember medication reminders presented using synthetic speech?

Reminders are often part of interventions to help older people adhere to complicated medication regimes. Computer-generated (synthetic) speech is ideal for tailoring reminders to different medication regimes. Since synthetic speech may be less intelligible than human speech, in particular under difficult listening conditions, we assessed how well older people can recall synthetic speech reminders for medications. 44 participants aged 50-80 with no cognitive impairment recalled reminders for one or four medications after a short distraction. We varied background noise, speech quality, and message design. Reminders were presented using a human voice and two synthetic voices. Data were analyzed using generalized linear mixed models. Reminder recall was satisfactory if reminders were restricted to one familiar medication, regardless of the voice used. Repeating medication names supported recall of lists of medications. We conclude that spoken reminders should build on familiar information and be integrated with other adherence support measures. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Medical Informatics Association. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: [email protected] numbered affiliations see end of article

Trends in High-Risk HLA Susceptibility Genes Among Colorado Youth With Type 1 Diabetes

OBJECTIVE—Type 1 diabetes is associated with a wide spectrum of susceptibility and protective genotypes within the HLA class II system. It has been reported that adults diagnosed with youth-onset type 1 diabetes more recently have been found to have fewer classical high-risk HLA class II genotypes than those diagnosed several decades ago. We hypothesized that such temporal trends in the distribution of HLA-DR, DQ genotypes would be evident, and perhaps even stronger, among 5- to 17-year-old Hispanic and non-Hispanic white (NHW) youth diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in Colorado between 1978 and 2004

Assessing the carcinogenic potential of low-dose exposures to chemical mixtures in the environment: the challenge ahead.

Lifestyle factors are responsible for a considerable portion of cancer incidence worldwide, but credible estimates from the World Health Organization and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) suggest that the fraction of cancers attributable to toxic environmental exposures is between 7% and 19%. To explore the hypothesis that low-dose exposures to mixtures of chemicals in the environment may be combining to contribute to environmental carcinogenesis, we reviewed 11 hallmark phenotypes of cancer, multiple priority target sites for disruption in each area and prototypical chemical disruptors for all targets, this included dose-response characterizations, evidence of low-dose effects and cross-hallmark effects for all targets and chemicals. In total, 85 examples of chemicals were reviewed for actions on key pathways/mechanisms related to carcinogenesis. Only 15% (13/85) were found to have evidence of a dose-response threshold, whereas 59% (50/85) exerted low-dose effects. No dose-response information was found for the remaining 26% (22/85). Our analysis suggests that the cumulative effects of individual (non-carcinogenic) chemicals acting on different pathways, and a variety of related systems, organs, tissues and cells could plausibly conspire to produce carcinogenic synergies. Additional basic research on carcinogenesis and research focused on low-dose effects of chemical mixtures needs to be rigorously pursued before the merits of this hypothesis can be further advanced. However, the structure of the World Health Organization International Programme on Chemical Safety 'Mode of Action' framework should be revisited as it has inherent weaknesses that are not fully aligned with our current understanding of cancer biology

Protection From Retinopathy and Other Complications in Patients With Type 1 Diabetes of Extreme Duration: The Joslin 50-Year Medalist Study

Objective: To assess complication prevalence and identify protective factors in patients with diabetes duration of $\geq$50 years. Characterization of a complication-free subgroup in this cohort would suggest that some individuals are protected from diabetes complications and allow identification of endogenous protective factors. Research Design and Methods: Cross-sectional, observational study of 351 U.S. residents who have survived with type 1 diabetes for $\geq$50 years (Medalists). Retinopathy, nephropathy, neuropathy, and cardiovascular disease were assessed in relation to HbA$_{1c}$, lipids, and advanced glycation end products (AGEs). Retrospective chart review provided longitudinal ophthalmic data for a subgroup. Results: A high proportion of Medalists remain free from proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) (42.6%), nephropathy (86.9%), neuropathy (39.4%), or cardiovascular disease (51.5%). Current and longitudinal (the past 15 years) glycemic control were unrelated to complications. Subjects with high plasma carboxyethyl-lysine and pentosidine were 7.2-fold more likely to have any complication. Of Medalists without PDR, 96% with no retinopathy progression over the first 17 years of follow-up did not experience retinopathy worsening thereafter. Conclusions: The Medalist population is likely enriched for protective factors against complications. These factors might prove useful to the general population with diabetes if they can be used to induce protection against long-term complications. Specific AGE combinations were strongly associated with complications, indicating a link between AGE formation or processing with development of diabetic vasculopathy

Comparison of Blue Light-Filtering IOLs and UV Light-Filtering IOLs for Cataract Surgery: A Meta-Analysis

Background: A number of published randomized controlled trials have been conducted to evaluate visual performance of blue light-filtering intraocular lenses (IOL) and UV light-filtering intraocular lenses (IOL) after cataract phacoemulsification surgery. However, results have not always been consistent. Therefore, we carried out a meta-analysis to compare the effectiveness of blue light-filtering IOLs versus UV light-filtering IOLs in cataract surgery. Methods and Findings: Comprehensive searches of PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library and the Chinese BioMedical literature databases were performed using web-based search engines. Fifteen trials (1690 eyes) were included for systematic review, and 11 of 15 studies were included in this meta-analysis. The results showed that there were no significant differences in postoperative mean best corrected visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, overall color vision, or in the blue light spectrum under photopic light conditions between blue light-filtering IOLs and UV light-filtering IOLs [WMD = 20.01, 95%CI (20.03, 0.01), P = 0.46; WMD = 0.07, 95%CI (20.04, 0.19), P = 0.20; SMD = 0.14, 95%CI (20.33, 0.60), P = 0.566; SMD = 0.20, 95%CI (20.04, 0.43), P = 0.099]. However, color vision with blue light-filtering IOLs was significantly reduced in the blue light spectrum under mesopic light conditions [SMD = 0.74, 95%CI (0.29, 1.18), P = 0.001]. Conclusion: This meta-analysis demonstrates that postoperative visual performance with blue light-filtering IOLs is approximately equal to that of UV light-filtering IOLs after cataract surgery, but color vision with blue light-filtering IOL

Prevalence of age-related hearing loss in Europe: a review

Populations are becoming progressively older thus presenting symptoms of diminished organ function due to degenerative processes. These may be physiological or caused by additional factors damaging the organ. Presbyacusis refers to the physiological age-related changes of the peripheral and central auditory system leading to hearing impairment and difficulty understanding spoken language. In contrast to epidemiological data of other continents, the prevalence of age-related hearing loss (ARHL) in Europe is not well defined, due in part to the use of different classification systems. We performed a systematic literature review with the aim of gaining a picture of the prevalence of ARHL in Europe. The review included only population and epidemiological studies in English since 1970 with samples in European countries with subjects aged 60 years and above. Nineteen studies met our selection criteria and additional five studies reported self-reported hearing impairment. When these data were crudely averaged and interpolated, roughly 30% of men and 20% of women in Europe were found to have a hearing loss of 30 dB HL or more by age 70 years, and 55% of men and 45% of women by age 80 years. Apparent problems in comparing the available data were the heterogeneity of measures and cut-offs for grades of hearing impairment. Our systematic review of epidemiological data revealed more information gaps than information that would allow gaining a meaningful picture of prevalence of ARHL. The need for standardized procedures when collecting and reporting epidemiological data on hearing loss has become evident. Development of hearing loss over time in conjunction with the increase in life expectancy is a major factor determining strategies of detection and correction of ARHL. Thus, we recommend using the WHO classification of hearing loss strictly and including standard audiometric measures in population-based health surveys

Cell-derived extracellular vesicles can be used as a biomarker reservoir for glioblastoma tumor subtyping

Glioblastoma (GBM) is one of the most aggressive solid tumors for which treatment options and biomarkers are limited. Small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) produced by both GBM and stromal cells are central in the inter-cellular communication that is taking place in the tumor bulk. As tumor sEVs are accessible in biofluids, recent reports have suggested that sEVs contain valuable biomarkers for GBM patient diagnosis and follow-up. The aim of the current study was to describe the protein content of sEVs produced by different GBM cell lines and patient-derived stem cells. Our results reveal that the content of the sEVs mirrors the phenotypic signature of the respective GBM cells, leading to the description of potential informative sEV-associated biomarkers for GBM subtyping, such as CD44. Overall, these data could assist future GBM in vitro studies and provide insights for the development of new diagnostic and therapeutic methods as well as personalized treatment strategies