Digitization of the Canadian Parliamentary debates

This paper describes the digitization and enrichment of the Canadian House of Commons English Debates from 1901 to present. We start by laying out the general framework in which this project took place and then present the structure of the database and provide guidelines to prospective users. The paper concludes with the introduction of www.lipad.ca, an online platform designed as a hub for archiving Canadian political data, with the parliamentary proceedings at the centre of its architecture

Identification and mapping of AFLP markers linked to peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) resistance to the aphid vector of groundnut rosette disease

Groundnut rosette disease is the most destructive viral disease of peanut in Africa and can cause serious yield losses under favourable conditions. The development of disease-resistant cultivars is the most effective control strategy. Resistance to the aphid vector, Aphis craccivora, was identified in the breeding line ICG 12991 and is controlled by a single recessive gene. Bulked segregant analysis (BSA) and amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) analysis were employed to identify DNA markers linked to aphid resistance and for the development of a partial genetic linkage map. A F2:3 population was developed from a cross using the aphid-resistant parent ICG 12991. Genotyping was carried out in the F2 generation and phenotyping in the F3 generation. Results were used to assign individual F2 lines as homozygous-resistant, homozygous-susceptible or segregating. A total of 308 AFLP (20 EcoRI+3/MseI+3, 144 MluI+3/MseI+3 and 144 PstI+3/MseI+3) primer combinations were used to identify markers associated with aphid resistance in the F2:3 population. Twenty putative markers were identified, of which 12 mapped to five linkage groups covering a map distance of 139.4 cM. A single recessive gene was mapped on linkage group 1, 3.9 cM from a marker originating from the susceptible parent, that explained 76.1% of the phenotypic variation for aphid resistance. This study represents the first report on the identification of molecular markers closely linked to aphid resistance to groundnut rosette disease and the construction of the first partial genetic linkage map for cultivated peanu

Litterfall, litter decomposition and associated nutrient fluxes in Pinus halepensis: influence of tree removal intensity in a Mediterranean forest

The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s10342-015-0893-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users[EN] Our knowledge about the influence of silvicultural treatments on nutrient cycling processes in Mediterranean forests is still limited. Four levels of tree removal were compared in an Aleppo pine forest in eastern Spain to determine the effects on litterfall, litter decomposition and the associated nutrient fluxes after 12 years. Removal treatments included clearfelling, two shelterwood intensities (60 and 75 % of basal area removed) and untreated controls. Twelve years later, the basal area removed still explained 60 % of litterfall mass variance and 60 % of C, 52 % of N, 45 % of P, 17 % of K, 47 % of Ca and 60 % of Mg return variances. Litter decomposed somewhat more slowly in clearfellings compared to controls (p = 0.049), accumulated more Ca and released less K compared to the other three treatments. This was explained by contamination with mineral particles due to the poorly developed O horizon in clearfellings. We conclude that the management practices reduced the nutrient return via litterfall, but the nutrient release through decomposition seems poorly sensitive to canopy disturbance. In order to accurately quantify the harvesting impacts on nutrient cycling in this Mediterranean forest system, it is necessary to measure the litterfall of the understory layer.This work has been supported by a fellowship from the Generalitat Valenciana, Conselleria de Educacion, Formacion y Empleo awarded to L. Lado-Monserrat (BFPI/2008/041). Silvicultural treatments were carried out by the Mediterranean Centre for Environmental Studies (CEAM) through programme "I + D en relacion con la restauracion de la cubierta vegetal y otros aspectos de investigacion forestal". Dataloggers and probes were provided by the Generalitat Valenciana through Project "Efecto de diferentes sistemas de aclareo de masa forestal sobre la disponibilidad de agua, nutrientes y la regeneracion de la masa arborea y arbustiva en parcelas de pinar" (GV06/126). We acknowledge Joana Oliver, Ruth M. Tavera and Daniel Fortanet for their help in the laboratory and in the field. The authors wish to thank Francisco Galiana for his assistance, including help in fieldwork and providing information about the experimental design of the silvicultural treatments. Thanks also go to Rafael Herrera from the Centro de Ecologia, Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Cientificas, Caracas, Venezuela and two anonymous reviewers for critically reviewing the manuscript.Lado Monserrat, L.; Lidón, A.; Bautista, I. (2015). Litterfall, litter decomposition and associated nutrient fluxes in Pinus halepensis: influence of tree removal intensity in a Mediterranean forest. 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A global approach to addressing the policy, research and social challenges of male reproductive health

Male infertility is a global health issue; yet to a large extent, our knowledge of its causes, impact and consequence is largely unknown. Recent data indicate that infertile men have an increased risk of somatic disorders such as cancer and die younger compared to fertile men. Moreover, several studies point to a significant adverse effect on the health of the offspring. From the startling lack of progress in male contraception combined with the paucity of improvements in the diagnosis of male infertility, we conclude there is a crisis in male reproductive health. The Male Reproductive Health Initiative has been organized to directly address these issues (www.eshre.eu/Specialty-groups/Special-Interest-Groups/Andrology/MRHI). The Working Group will formulate an evidence-based strategic road map outlining the ways forward. This is an open consortium desiring to engage with all stakeholders and governments

Early-life exposure to environmental contaminants perturbs the sperm epigenome and induces negative pregnancy outcomes for three generations via the paternal lineage

Due to the grasshopper effect, the Arctic food chain in Canada is contaminated with persistent organic pollutants (POPs) of industrial origin, including polychlorinated biphenyls and organochlorine pesticides. Exposure to POPs may be a contributor to the greater incidence of poor fetal growth, placental abnormalities, stillbirths, congenital defects and shortened lifespan in the Inuit population compared to non-Aboriginal Canadians. Although maternal exposure to POPs is well established to harm pregnancy outcomes, paternal transmission of the effects of POPs is a possibility that has not been well investigated. We used a rat model to test the hypothesis that exposure to POPs during gestation and suckling leads to developmental defects that are transmitted to subsequent generations via the male lineage. Indeed, developmental exposure to an environmentally relevant Arctic POPs mixture impaired sperm quality and pregnancy outcomes across two subsequent, unexposed generations and altered sperm DNA methylation, some of which are also observed for two additional generations. Genes corresponding to the altered sperm methylome correspond to health problems encountered in the Inuit population. These findings demonstrate that the paternal methylome is sensitive to the environment and that some perturbations persist for at least two subsequent generations. In conclusion, although many factors influence health, paternal exposure to contaminants plays a heretofore-underappreciated role with sperm DNA methylation contributing to the molecular underpinnings involved

Functional outcome after perineal stapled prolapse resection for external rectal prolapse

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>A new surgical technique, the Perineal Stapled Prolapse resection (PSP) for external rectal prolapse was introduced in a feasibility study in 2008. This study now presents the first results of a larger patient group with functional outcome in a mid-term follow-up.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>From December 2007 to April 2009 PSP was performed by the same surgeon team on patients with external rectal prolapse. The prolapse was completely pulled out and then axially cut open with a linear stapler at three and nine o'clock in lithotomy position. Finally, the prolapse was resected stepwise with the curved Contour^®Transtar™ stapler at the prolapse's uptake. Perioperative morbidity and functional outcome were prospectively measured by appropriate scores.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>32 patients participated in the study; median age was 80 years (range 26-93). No intraoperative complications and 6.3% minor postoperative complications occurred. Median operation time was 30 minutes (15-65), hospital stay 5 days (2-19). Functional outcome data were available in 31 of the patients after a median follow-up of 6 months (4-22). Preoperative severe faecal incontinence disappeared postoperatively in 90% of patients with a reduction of the median Wexner score from 16 (4-20) to 1 (0-14) (<it>P </it>< 0.0001). No new incidence of constipation was reported.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The PSP is an elegant, fast and safe procedure, with good functional results.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>ISRCTN68491191</p

From the Shell-shocked Soldier to the Nervous Child: Psychoanalysis in the Aftermath of the First World War

This article investigates the development of child analysis in Britain between the wars, as the anxious child succeeded the shell-shocked soldier as a focus of psychoanalytic enquiry. Historians of psychoanalysis tend to regard the Second World War as a key moment in the discovery of the ‘war within’ the child, but it was in the aftermath of the First War that the warring psyche of the child was observed and elaborated. The personal experience of war and its aftermath, and the attention given to regression in the treatment of war neuroses, encouraged Melanie Klein, Anna Freud and others to turn their attention to children. At the same time, however, the impact of the First World War as a traumatic event, with inter-generational consequences, remained largely unaccounted for within psychoanalysis as Klein and others focused on the child's riven internal world

Epigenetic Mechanisms Regulate Stem Cell Expressed Genes Pou5f1 and Gfra1 in a Male Germ Cell Line

Male fertility is declining and an underlying cause may be due to environment-epigenetic interactions in developing sperm, yet nothing is known of how the epigenome controls gene expression in sperm development. Histone methylation and acetylation are dynamically regulated in spermatogenesis and are sensitive to the environment. Our objectives were to determine how histone H3 methylation and acetylation contribute to the regulation of key genes in spermatogenesis. A germ cell line, GC-1, was exposed to either the control, or the chromatin modifying drugs tranylcypromine (T), an inhibitor of the histone H3 demethylase KDM1 (lysine specific demethylase 1), or trichostatin (TSA), an inhibitor of histone deacetylases, (HDAC). Quantitative PCR (qPCR) was used to identify genes that were sensitive to treatment. As a control for specificity the Myod1 (myogenic differentiation 1) gene was analyzed. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) followed by qPCR was used to measure histone H3 methylation and acetylation at the promoters of target genes and the control, Myod1. Remarkably, the chromatin modifying treatment specifically induced the expression of spermatogonia expressed genes Pou5f1 and Gfra1. ChIP-qPCR revealed that induction of gene expression was associated with a gain in gene activating histone H3 methylation and acetylation in Pou5f1 and Gfra1 promoters, whereas CpG DNA methylation was not affected. Our data implicate a critical role for histone H3 methylation and acetylation in the regulation of genes expressed by spermatogonia – here, predominantly mediated by HDAC-containing protein complexes