Molecular cloning of the Na,K-ATPase α-subunit in developing brine shrimp and sequence comparison with higher organisms

AbstractWe report here the molecular cloning, nucleotide sequence, and predicted amino acid sequence of an α-subunit of the developmentally useful model, Artemia. The animo acid sequence shows divergence from that of mammals, birds, Torpedo, and Drosophila. However, regions in the putative ATP binding and transmembrane domains show absolute or high levels of conservation. Major differences occur in the amino-terminal domain and several other hypervariable regions. These differences are consistent with the suggestion that the brine shrimp is a ‘fast clock’ organism which diverged from the precursors of vertebrates 0.5–1 billion years ago.Na,K-ATPase; Molecular cloning; DNA, complementary; Amino acid sequence; (Artemia

An assessment of the aversive nature of an animal management procedure (clipping) using behavioral and physiological measures

Animal management often involves procedures that, while unlikely to cause physical pain, still cause aversive responses. The domestic horse ( Equus caballus ) regularly has excessive hair clipped off to facilitate its use as a riding/driving animal and this procedure causes adverse behavioral responses in some animals. The aim of this study was to compare behavioral and physiological measures to assess the aversive effect of this procedure. Ten horses were selected on the basis of being either compliant (C: n = 5) or non-compliant (NC: n = 5) during this procedure. The horses were subjected to a sham clipping procedure (SC: where the blades had been removed from the clippers) for a period of ten minutes. Measures were taken pre, during and post SC (−10 min to +30 min) and mean values calculated for ALL horses and for C and NC separately. Behavioral activity was scored (scale 1-5) by twenty students from video footage in (phase/group-blind scoring). Heart rate (HR), salivary cortisol and eye temperature were monitored throughout the procedure. The NC horses were found to be significantly more behaviorally active/less relaxed throughout the trial than C horses(p b 0.05) with the greatest difference occurring during the SC procedure (p b 0.01). NC horses were more active/less relaxed during, compared with pre or post SC (p b 0.05), but showed no behavioral difference pre and post SC. HR of the NC horses was higher than that of the C horses throughout the trial but only significantly so after 10 min of SC (p b 0.01). ALL horses showed significant increase in HR between +5 and +10 min into the procedure (p b 0.05). There was a significant increase in salivary cortisol concentration in ALL horses post procedure (p b 0.01) with levels peaking at 20 minute post SC. No significant differences in salivary cortisol concentration between C and NC were found at any stage of the trial. Eye temperature increased significantly in ALL horses during SC, peaking at +10 min into the procedure (p b 0.05) and then decreased substantially when SC had ceased (p b 0.01). Although no significant differences were found between C and NC per se, there was a significant interaction between group and phase of trial (p b 0.05) with the NC group showing a greater decrease in eye temperature post SC. There was a significant positive correlation between changes in salivary cortisol concentration and eye temperature (p b 0.01) but no correlation between any of the other measures. Although the behavioral response of C and NC to this procedure was significantly different the physiological responses indicated that ALL horses found the procedure aversive. Eye temperature could be used as an objective and immediate measure of how an animal is responding to a specific situation in order to evaluate management procedures and adapt them where appropriate to reduce the negative impact on animal health and welfare

Climate, wildfire, and erosion ensemble foretells more sediment in western USA watersheds

The area burned annually by wildfires is expected to increase worldwide due to climate change. Burned areas increase soil erosion rates within watersheds, which can increase sedimentation in downstream rivers and reservoirs. However, which watersheds will be impacted by future wildfires is largely unknown. Using an ensemble of climate, fire, and erosion models, we show that postfire sedimentation is projected to increase for nearly nine tenths of watersheds by \u3e10% and for more than one third of watersheds by \u3e100% by the 2041 to 2050 decade in the western USA. The projected increases are statistically significant for more than eight tenths of the watersheds. In the western USA, many human communities rely on water from rivers and reservoirs that originates in watersheds where sedimentation is projected to increase. Increased sedimentation could negatively impact water supply and quality for some communities, in addition to affecting stream channel stability and aquatic ecosystems

Effect on birth outcomes of a formalised approach to care in hospital labour assessment units: international, randomised controlled trial

Objective To determine if a complex nursing and midwifery intervention in hospital labour assessment units would increase the likelihood of spontaneous vaginal birth and improve other maternal and neonatal outcomes

Attitudes and Beliefs Regarding Pain in Interprofessional Education: A Multifaceted Dilemma

Purpose: To evaluate entry-level physical and occupational therapy student attitudes and beliefs toward treating a person with pain, at various levels of their didactic learning. Description: Across health professions, pain education varies considerably with its curricula of pain definitions, management principles, and interprofessional collaboration. The result of this discord has led to a broad range of behaviors and attitudes among health professions and their students, which can ultimately affect a person’s participation in society. Literature supports the importance of a curriculum that addresses students’ attitudes and beliefs toward treating people in pain in an attempt to preclude the formation of negative attitudes during clinical practice. Summary of Use: A modified open-ended sentence stem format was used to gather the qualitative data of 241 graduate students enrolled in occupational and physical therapy entry-level programs to assess their knowledge and attitudes toward pain. Students completed a questionnaire including two open-ended sentence stems. Verbatim transcripts of the students’ responses were thematically analyzed by five-blinded faculty, who constructed nine themes that reflected students’ responses. Interrater reliability was strong with an average of 89.4% agreement rating (range 68.1-97.6%). Analysis of the responses to the first stem, “People in pain are…” yielded four themes: 1) negative mood sate (suffering/unhappy); 2) negative trait or characteristic (wimpy/uncooperative); 3) needy; and 4) having real problems. The percentages of the students’ attitudes reflected in each theme were 28.8%, 5.1%, 42.7%, 23.4% respectively. Responses were dominated by themes related to a negative mood state and being needy. Negative attitudes toward treatment of persons in pain have been shown to contribute to disparities in pain care. Analysis of responses to the second stem question, “Working with patients in pain will be …” yielded five themes: 1) intellectually stimulating; 2) worthwhile/rewarding; 3) unpleasant/difficult; 4) challenging/complex; and 5) routine in practice. The frequency of responses were 8.3%, 33%, 19.8%, 38.9%, and 12.6% respectively and were dominated by themes suggesting that working with people in pain will be challenging yet rewarding. Importance to Member: Despite the frequency of pain problems in society, pain and the treatment of people in pain have not been major components of healthcare education. The International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) provides a guideline for knowledge of pain management for entry-level physical and occupational therapists. Knowing what preconceived attitudes and beliefs students have in treating persons with pain can help drive the development of a pain curriculum that is both academically inclusive and behaviorally influential. As educators, we have the opportunity to address this multifaceted dilemma to meet the IASP guidelines and bridge the gap between interprofessional pain education and the optimal treatment of those in pain

Implications for oxidative stress and astrocytes following 26S proteasomal depletion in mouse forebrain neurones

Neurodegenerative diseases are characterized by progressive degeneration of selective neurones in the nervous system, but the underlying mechanisms involved in neuroprotection and neurodegeneration remain unclear. Dysfunction of the ubiquitin proteasome system is one of the proposed hypotheses for the cause and progression of neuronal loss. We have performed quantitative two-dimensional fluorescence difference in-gel electrophoresis combined with peptide mass fingerprinting to reveal proteome changes associated with neurodegeneration following 26S proteasomal depletion in mouse forebrain neurones. Differentially expressed proteins were validated by Western blotting, biochemical assays and immunohistochemistry. Of significance was increased expression of the antioxidant enzyme peroxiredoxin 6 (PRDX6) in astrocytes, associated with oxidative stress. Interestingly, PRDX6 is a bifunctional enzyme with antioxidant peroxidase and phospholipase A2 (PLA2) activities. The PLA2 activity of PRDX6 was also increased following 26S proteasomal depletion and may be involved in neuroprotective or neurodegenerative mechanisms. This is the first in vivo report of oxidative stress caused directly by neuronal proteasome dysfunction in the mammalian brain. The results contribute to understanding neuronal–glial interactions in disease pathogenesis, provide an in vivo link between prominent disease hypotheses and importantly, are of relevance to a heterogeneous spectrum of neurodegenerative diseases

The Influence of Trait Compulsivity and Impulsivity on Addictive and Compulsive Behaviors During COVID-19.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in high levels of psychological distress worldwide, with experts expressing concern that this could result in corresponding increases in addictive behaviors as individuals seek to cope with their distress. Further, some individuals may be at greater risk than others for developing problematic addictive behaviors during times of high stress, such as individuals with high trait impulsivity and compulsivity. Despite the potential of such knowledge to inform early detection of risk, no study to date has examined the influence of trait impulsivity and compulsivity on addictive behaviors during COVID-19. Toward this aim, the current study examined the association between impulsive and compulsive traits and problematic addictive and compulsive behaviors during the first COVID-19 lockdown in Australia. Methods: Eight hundred seventy-eight adults completed a cross-sectional online survey during the first lockdown, between late May to June 2020. Participants completed scales for addictive and compulsive behaviors for the period prior to and during lockdown for problematic eating, pornography, internet use, gambling, drinking, and obsessive-compulsive behaviors. Negative binomial regressions examined the associations between impulsivity, compulsivity, and their interaction with problematic behaviors during lockdown, controlling for age, gender, sample, psychological distress, exposure to COVID-related stressors, and pre-COVID problems. Results: Greater trait compulsivity was associated with more problematic obsessive-compulsive behaviors (p < 0.001) and less problematic drinking (p = 0.038) during lockdown. Further, trait compulsivity interacted with trait impulsivity in relation to problematic eating behaviors (p = 0.014) such that greater trait compulsivity was associated with more problems among individuals with low impulsivity only (p = 0.030). Finally, psychological distress and/or exposure to COVID-related stressors were associated with greater problems across all addictive and compulsive behaviors, as was severity of pre-COVID problems. Discussion: Trait compulsivity was associated with addictive and compulsive behaviors in different ways. Further, the finding that stress-related variables (psychological distress and COVID-related stressors) were associated with greater problems across all lockdown behaviors supports the idea that stress may facilitate, or otherwise be associated with, problematic behaviors. These findings highlight the need for interventions that enhance resilience to stress, which in turn may reduce risk for addictive and compulsive disorders

Characteristics and Predictive Value of Blood Transcriptome Signature in Males with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) is a spectrum of highly heritable neurodevelopmental disorders in which known mutations contribute to disease risk in 20% of cases. Here, we report the results of the largest blood transcriptome study to date that aims to identify differences in 170 ASD cases and 115 age/sex-matched controls and to evaluate the utility of gene expression profiling as a tool to aid in the diagnosis of ASD. The differentially expressed genes were enriched for the neurotrophin signaling, long-term potentiation/depression, and notch signaling pathways. We developed a 55-gene prediction model, using a cross-validation strategy, on a sample cohort of 66 male ASD cases and 33 age-matched male controls (P1). Subsequently, 104 ASD cases and 82 controls were recruited and used as a validation set (P2). This 55-gene expression signature achieved 68% classification accuracy with the validation cohort (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC): 0.70 [95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.62–0.77]). Not surprisingly, our prediction model that was built and trained with male samples performed well for males (AUC 0.73, 95% CI 0.65–0.82), but not for female samples (AUC 0.51, 95% CI 0.36–0.67). The 55-gene signature also performed robustly when the prediction model was trained with P2 male samples to classify P1 samples (AUC 0.69, 95% CI 0.58–0.80). Our result suggests that the use of blood expression profiling for ASD detection may be feasible. Further study is required to determine the age at which such a test should be deployed, and what genetic characteristics of ASD can be identified

Pediatric Bipolar Disorder Versus Severe Mood Dysregulation: Risk for Manic Episodes on Follow-Up

OBJECTIVE: An important question in pediatric bipolar research is whether marked nonepisodic irritability is a manifestation of bipolar disorder in youth. This study tests the hypothesis that youth with severe mood dysregulation (SMD), a category created for the purpose of studying children presenting with severe nonepisodic irritability, will be significantly less likely to develop (hypo-)manic or mixed episodes over time than will youth with bipolar disorder (BD). METHOD: Patients with SMD (N = 84) and narrowly defined BD (N = 93) at baseline were followed up in 6-monthly intervals using the relevant K-SADS modules to ascertain (hypo-)manic or mixed episodes. RESULTS: Only one of 84 SMD subjects (1/84 [1.2%]; 95% confidence interval CI = 0.0003 to 0.064) experienced a (hypo-)manic or mixed episode during the study (median follow-up = 28.7 months). The frequency of such episodes was more than 50 times higher in those with narrowly defined BD (58/93 [62.4%]; 95% CI 0.52 to 0.72). CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that, over an approximately 2-year follow-up period, youth with SMD are unlikely to develop (hypo-)manic or mixed episodes