A reverse genetic analysis of components of the Toll signaling pathway in Caenorhabditis elegans.

International audienceBoth animals and plants respond rapidly to pathogens by inducing the expression of defense-related genes. Whether such an inducible system of innate immunity is present in the model nematode Caenorhabditis elegans is currently an open question. Among conserved signaling pathways important for innate immunity, the Toll pathway is the best characterized. In Drosophila, this pathway also has an essential developmental role. C. elegans possesses structural homologs of components of this pathway, and this observation raises the possibility that a Toll pathway might also function in nematodes to trigger defense mechanisms or to control development

A reverse genetic analysis of components of the Toll signaling pathway in Caenorhabditis elegans.

International audienceBoth animals and plants respond rapidly to pathogens by inducing the expression of defense-related genes. Whether such an inducible system of innate immunity is present in the model nematode Caenorhabditis elegans is currently an open question. Among conserved signaling pathways important for innate immunity, the Toll pathway is the best characterized. In Drosophila, this pathway also has an essential developmental role. C. elegans possesses structural homologs of components of this pathway, and this observation raises the possibility that a Toll pathway might also function in nematodes to trigger defense mechanisms or to control development

Discharge against medical advice in a pediatric emergency center in the State of Qatar

Objective: The objective of this study was to analyze cases that had left the Pediatric Emergency Center Al Sadd, Doha (PEC) against medical advice, with the aim of developing policies to help reduce this occurrence. Methodology: All patients that were admitted to the main PEC observation room for treatment and/or investigation and subsequently left against medical advice from February 18, 2007 to June 18, 2007, were followed by a phone call, and a questionnaire, which was completed by the departmental patient representative. Results: 99,133 patients attended the facility during the study period. Of those, 106 left the facility against medical advice. Ninety-four guardians were successfully contacted. 90% of the cases were in children below 2 years of age. In 87% of the cases the mother was the main decision maker for leaving against medical advice. Domestic obligations were the leading cause of DAMA (discharge against medical advice), reported in 45% of the cases. Respondents reported that the consequences of DAMA were well explained by medical staff before they left the facility however, they had not met with the departmental patient representative during their stay. Conclusion:As the majority of DAMA cases occurred in infants, medical staff should address the concerns of this group early on in the course of treatment. Maintaining communication and providing support, in particular for mothers of higher risk groups may help to reduce the rate of DAMA cases

Imperfect detection and its consequences for monitoring for conservation

Biodiversity monitoring is important to identify conservation needs and test the efficacy of management actions. Variants of “abundance” (N) are among the most widely monitored quantities, e.g., (true) abundance, number of occupied sites (distribution, occupancy) or species richness.We propose a sampling-based view of monitoring that clearly acknowledges two sampling processes involved when monitoring N. First, measurements from the surveyed sample area are generalized to a larger area, hence the importance of a probability sample. Second, even within sampled areas only a sample of units (individuals, occupied sites, species) is counted owing to imperfect detectability p. If p < 1, counts are random variables and their expectation E(n) is related to N via the relationship E(n) ÿ*p. Whenever p < 1, counts vary even under identical conditions and underestimate N, and patterns in counts confound patterns in N with those in p. In addition, part of the population N may be unavailable for detection, e.g., temporarily outside the sampled quadrat, underground or for another reason not exposed to sampling; hence a more general way of describing a count is E(n) ÿ*a*p, where a is availability probability and p detection, given availability. We give two examples of monitoring schemes that highlight the importance of explicitly accounting for availability and detectability. In the Swiss reptile Red List update, the widespread and abundant slow worm (Anguis fragilis) was recorded in only 22.1% of all sampled quadrats. Only an analysis that accounted for both availability and detectability gave realistic estimates of the species’ distribution. Among 128 bird species monitored in the Swiss breeding bird survey, de tection in occupied 1 km quadrats averaged only 64% and varied tremendously by species (3–99 %); hence observed distributions greatly underestimated range sizes and should not be compared among species.We believe that monitoring design and analyses should properly account for these two sampling processes to enable valid inferences about biodiversity. We argue for a more rigorous approach to both monitoring design and analysis to obtain the best possible information about the state of nature. An explicit recognition of, and proper accounting for, the two sampling processes involved in most monitoring programs will go a long way towards this goa