What you know can influence what you are going to know (especially for older adults)

Stimuli related to an individual's knowledge/experience are often more memorable than abstract stimuli, particularly for older adults. This has been found when material that is congruent with knowledge is contrasted with material that is incongruent with knowledge, but there is little research on a possible graded effect of congruency. The present study manipulated the degree of congruency of study material with participants’ knowledge. Young and older participants associated two famous names to nonfamous faces, where the similarity between the nonfamous faces and the real famous individuals varied. These associations were incrementally easier to remember as the name-face combinations became more congruent with prior knowledge, demonstrating a graded congruency effect, as opposed to an effect based simply on the presence or absence of associations to prior knowledge. Older adults tended to show greater susceptibility to the effect than young adults, with a significant age difference for extreme stimuli, in line with previous literature showing that schematic support in memory tasks particularly benefits older adults

Finding the complement of the invariant manifolds transverse to a given foliation for a 3D flow

A method is presented to establish regions of phase space for 3D vector fields through which pass no co-oriented invariant 2D submanifolds transverse to a given oriented 1D foliation. Refinements are given for the cases of volume-preserving or Cartan-Arnol’d Hamiltonian flows and for boundaryless submanifolds

Change in Composition of the Anopheles Gambiae Complex and its Possible Implications for the Transmission of Malaria and Lymphatic Filariasis in North-Eastern Tanzania.

A dramatic decline in the incidence of malaria due to Plasmodium falciparum infection in coastal East Africa has recently been reported to be paralleled (or even preceded) by an equally dramatic decline in malaria vector density, despite absence of organized vector control. As part of investigations into possible causes for the change in vector population density, the present study analysed the Anopheles gambiae s.l. sibling species composition in north-eastern Tanzania. The study was in two parts. The first compared current species complex composition in freshly caught An. gambiae s.l. complex from three villages to the composition reported from previous studies carried out 2-4 decades ago in the same villages. The second took advantage of a sample of archived dried An. gambiae s.l. complex specimens collected regularly from a fourth study village since 2005. Both fresh and archived dried specimens were identified to sibling species of the An. gambiae s.l. complex by PCR. The same specimens were moreover examined for Plasmodium falciparum and Wuchereria bancrofti infection by PCR. As in earlier studies, An. gambiae s.s., Anopheles merus and Anopheles arabiensis were identified as sibling species found in the area. However, both study parts indicated a marked change in sibling species composition over time. From being by far the most abundant in the past An. gambiae s.s. was now the most rare, whereas An. arabiensis had changed from being the most rare to the most common. P. falciparum infection was rarely detected in the examined specimens (and only in An. arabiensis) whereas W. bancrofti infection was prevalent and detected in all three sibling species. The study indicates that a major shift in An. gambiae s.l. sibling species composition has taken place in the study area in recent years. Combined with the earlier reported decline in overall malaria vector density, the study suggests that this decline has been most marked for An. gambiae s.s., and least for An. arabiensis, leading to current predominance of the latter. Due to differences in biology and vectorial capacity of the An. gambiae s.l. complex the change in sibling species composition will have important implications for the epidemiology and control of malaria and lymphatic filariasis in the study area

Late entry to antenatal care in New South Wales, Australia

AIMS: This study aimed to assess the prevalence of women who entered antenatal care (ANC) late and to identify factors related to the late entry to ANC in New South Wales (NSW) in 2004. METHODS: The NSW Midwives Data Collection contained data of 85,034 women who gave birth in 2004. Data were downloaded using SAS and transferred to STATA 8.0. Entering ANC after 12 weeks of gestation was classified as late. The Andersen Health Seeking Behaviour Model was used for selection and analyses of related factors. Regression and hierarchical analyses were used to identify significant factors and their relative contributions to the variation of pregnancy duration at entry to ANC. RESULTS: 41% of women commenced ANC after 12 weeks of gestation. Inequality existed between groups of women with predisposing characteristics and enabling resources contributed more to the variation in pregnancy duration at entry to ANC than needs. The groups of women with highest risk were teenagers, migrants from developing countries, women living in Western Sydney, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, women with three or more previous pregnancies and heavy smokers. The high risk groups with largest number of women were migrants from developing countries and women living in Western Sydney. CONCLUSION: A large number of women in NSW entered ANC late in their pregnancies. Efforts to increase early entry to ANC should be targeted on identified high risk groups of women

Probing the near infrared stellar population of Seyfert galaxies

We employ IRTF SpeX NIR (0.8-2.4 microns) spectra to investigate the stellar population (SP), active galactic nuclei (AGN) featureless continuum (FC) and hot dust properties in 9 Sy 1 and 15 Sy 2 galaxies. Both the starlight code and the hot dust as an additional base element were used for the first time in this spectral range. We found evidence of correlation among the equivalent widths (W) Si I 1.59 microns x Mg I 1.58 microns, equally for both kinds of activity. Part of the W{Na I 2.21 microns} and W {CO 2.3 microns} strengths may be related to galaxy inclination. Our synthesis shows significant differences between Sy 1 and Sy 2 galaxies: the hot dust component is required to fit the K-band spectra of ~90% of the Sy 1 galaxies, and only of ~25% of the Sy 2; about 50 % of the Sy 2 galaxies require a $FC$ component contribution >20%, while this fraction increases to 60% in the Sy 1; also, in about 50 % of the Sy2, the combined FC and young components contribute with more than 20%, while this occurs in 90% of the Sy1, suggesting recent star formation in the central region. The central few hundred parsecs of our galaxy sample contain a substantial fraction of intermediate-age SPs with a mean metallicity near solar. Our SP synthesis confirms that the 1.1 micron CN band can be used as a tracer of intermediate-age SPs. The simultaneous fitting of SP, FC and hot dust components increased in ~150% the number of AGNs with hot dust detected and the mass estimated. The NIR emerges as an excellent window to study the stellar population of Sy 1 galaxies, as opposed to the usually heavily attenuated optical range. Our approach opens a new way to investigate and quantify the individual contribution of the three most important NIR continuum components observed in AGNs.Comment: The paper contains 14 figures and 5 tables. Accepted for publication in MNRA

High Level of Pyrethroid Resistance in an Anopheles funestus Population of the Chokwe District in Mozambique

Background Although Anopheles funestus is difficult to rear, it is crucial to analyse field populations of this malaria vector in order to successfully characterise mechanisms of insecticide resistance observed in this species in Africa. In this study we carried out a large-scale field collection and rearing of An. funestus from Mozambique in order to analyse its susceptibility status to insecticides and to broadly characterise the main resistance mechanisms involved in natural populations. Methodology/Principal Findings 3,000 F1 adults were obtained through larval rearing. WHO susceptibility assays indicated a very high resistance to pyrethroids with no mortality recorded after 1h30min exposure and less than 50% mortality at 3h30min. Resistance to the carbamate, bendiocarb was also noted, with 70% mortality after 1h exposure. In contrast, no DDT resistance was observed, indicating that no kdr-type resistance was involved. The sequencing of the acetylcholinesterase gene indicated the absence of the G119S and F455W mutations associated with carbamate and organophosphate resistance. This could explain the absence of malathion resistance in this population. Both biochemical assays and quantitative PCR implicated up-regulated P450 genes in pyrethroid resistance, with GSTs playing a secondary role. The carbamate resistance observed in this population is probably conferred by the observed altered AChE with esterases also involved. Conclusion/Significance The high level of pyrethroid resistance in this population despite the cessation of pyrethroid use for IRS in 1999 is a serious concern for resistance management strategies such as rotational use of insecticides. As DDT has now been re-introduced for IRS, susceptibility to DDT needs to be closely monitored to prevent the appearance and spread of resistance to this insecticide

Celastrol inhibits aminoglycoside-induced ototoxicity via heat shock protein 32

Hearing loss is often caused by death of the mechanosensory hair cells of the inner ear. Hair cells are susceptible to death caused by aging, noise trauma, and ototoxic drugs, including the aminoglycoside antibiotics and the antineoplastic agent cisplatin. Ototoxic drugs result in permanent hearing loss for over 500 000 Americans annually. We showed previously that induction of heat shock proteins (HSPs) inhibits both aminoglycoside- and cisplatin-induced hair cell death in whole-organ cultures of utricles from adult mice. In order to begin to translate these findings into a clinical therapy aimed at inhibiting ototoxic drug-induced hearing loss, we have now examined a pharmacological HSP inducer, celastrol. Celastrol induced upregulation of HSPs in utricles, and it provided significant protection against aminoglycoside-induced hair cell death in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, celastrol inhibited hearing loss in mice receiving systemic aminoglycoside treatment. Our data indicate that the major heat shock transcription factor HSF-1 is not required for celastrol-mediated protection. HSP32 (also called heme oxygenase-1, HO-1) is the primary mediator of the protective effect of celastrol. HSP32/HO-1 inhibits pro-apoptotic c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) activation and hair cell death. Taken together, our data indicate that celastrol inhibits aminoglycoside ototoxicity via HSP32/HO-1 induction

Do Physicians Know When Their Diagnoses Are Correct?

This study explores the alignment between physicians' confidence in their diagnoses and the “correctness” of these diagnoses, as a function of clinical experience, and whether subjects were prone to over-or underconfidence. Design : Prospective, counterbalanced experimental design. Setting : Laboratory study conducted under controlled conditions at three academic medical centers. Participants : Seventy-two senior medical students, 72 senior medical residents, and 72 faculty internists. Intervention : We created highly detailed, 2-to 4-page synopses of 36 diagnostically challenging medical cases, each with a definitive correct diagnosis. Subjects generated a differential diagnosis for each of 9 assigned cases, and indicated their level of confidence in each diagnosis. Measurements And Main Results : A differential was considered “correct” if the clinically true diagnosis was listed in that subject's hypothesis list. To assess confidence, subjects rated the likelihood that they would, at the time they generated the differential, seek assistance in reaching a diagnosis. Subjects' confidence and correctness were “mildly” aligned (Κ=.314 for all subjects, .285 for faculty, .227 for residents, and .349 for students). Residents were overconfident in 41% of cases where their confidence and correctness were not aligned, whereas faculty were overconfident in 36% of such cases and students in 25%. Conclusions : Even experienced clinicians may be unaware of the correctness of their diagnoses at the time they make them. Medical decision support systems, and other interventions designed to reduce medical errors, cannot rely exclusively on clinicians' perceptions of their needs for such support.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/74850/1/j.1525-1497.2005.30145.x.pd

Teaching Medicine to Non-English Speaking Background Learners in a Foreign Country

Teaching abroad exposes medical educators to unfamiliar teaching methods and learning styles that can enhance their overall teaching repertoire. Based on the author’s experience teaching residents for one month at a community hospital in Japan and a review of the non-English speaking background (NESB) educational literature, pedagogical principles and lessons for successful international NESB instruction are outlined. These methods include understanding the dissimilar linguistic, cultural, and academic backgrounds of the learners, emphasizing pace and clarity of speech, presenting a conceptual framework instead of detailed discourse on subjects, and regular visual reinforcement of spoken words. The limitations introduced by the language barrier and the use of interpreters are briefly discussed. As society and institutions of higher learning become more global and multicultural, clinician–educators may benefit from teaching in other countries in order to enhance their teaching skills with NESB learners, both abroad and in their own institutions

Pyrite oxidation inhibition by a cross-linked lipid coating

The effect of a diacetylene-containing phospholipid on the oxidation of pyrite, FeS(2), was investigated. Earlier work reported by our research group showed that the adsorption of l,2-bis(10,12-tricosadiynoyl)-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine on pyrite suppressed the extent of its oxidation by about 75% over a specific time period. Results presented here show that the pre-exposure to UV radiation of this lipid after sorption onto pyrite results in a 90% suppression. Attenuated total reflection (ATR) Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy (FTIR) suggests that the UV irradiation of the lipid does not result in degradation of the adsorbed layer. It is believed that the UV exposure results in the cross-linking and polymerization of the adsorbed phospholipid into a relatively impermeable barrier that separates the pyrite from the aqueous phase. The results of this study might have implications for the protection of pyrite from oxidation in the environment