Handedness correlates with the dominant parkinson side:A systematic review and meta-analysis

Parkinson's disease (PD) characteristically presents with asymmetrical symptoms, contralateral to the side of the most extensive cerebral affection. This intriguing asymmetry, even included in the definition for diagnosing PD, however, is still part of a mystery. The relation with handedness as a common indicator of cerebral asymmetry might provide a clue in the search for causal factors of asymmetrical symptom onset in PD. This possible relationship, however, is still under debate. The objective of this study was to establish whether a relation between handedness and dominant PD side exists. We searched for cross-sectional or cohort studies that registered handedness and onset side in PD patients in PubMed, EMBASE, and Web of Science from their first record until 14 February 2011. Data about handedness and dominant PD side was extracted. Authors who registered both but not described their relation were contacted for further information. Odds ratios (ORs) were analyzed with a fixed effect Mantel-Haenszel model. Heterogeneity and indications of publication bias were limited. Our electronic search identified 10 studies involving 4405 asymmetric PD patients. Of the right-handed patients, 2413 (59.5%) had right-dominant and 1644 (40.5%) had left-dominant PD symptoms. For the left-handed patients this relation was reversed, with 142 (40.8%) right-dominant and 206 (59.2%) left-dominant PD symptoms. Overall OR was 2.13 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.712.66). Handedness and symptom dominance in PD are firmly related with each other in such a way that the PD symptoms emerge more often on the dominant hand-side. Possible causal factors are discussed. (C) 2011 Movement Disorder Societ

Cryptic invasion of a parasitic copepod: Compromised identification when morphologically similar invaders co-occur in invaded ecosystems

Despite their frequent occurrence and strong impacts on native biota, biological invasions can long remain undetected. One reason for this is that an invasive species can be morphologically similar to either native species or introduced species previously established in the same region, and thus be subject to mistaken identification. One recent case involves congeneric invasive parasites, copepods that now infect bivalve hosts along European Atlantic coasts, after having been introduced independently first from the Mediterranean Sea (Mytilicola intestinalis Steuer, 1902) and later from Japan (Mytilicola orientalis Mori, 1935). At least one report on M. intestinalis may have actually concerned M. orientalis, and M. orientalis thus qualifies as a "cryptic invader". Because these two parasitic copepods are morphologically similar, knowledge about their distribution, impact and interactions depends crucially on reliable species identification. In this study, we evaluated the reliability of morphological identification of these two species in parts of their invasive range in Europe (Dutch Delta and Wadden Sea) in comparison with molecular methods of well-established accuracy based on COI gene sequences and ITS1 restriction fragment length polymorphism. Based on seven easily measured or scored macro-morphological variables that were recorded for 182 individual copepods isolated from blue mussels (Mytilus edulis Linnaeus, 1758), principal component analysis showed two relatively distinct but overlapping morphological species groups for females, but no clear separation in males. Discriminant function analysis showed that the females can be discriminated reasonably well based on some of the morphological characteristics (identification error rate of 7%) while males cannot (error rate of 25%). The direction of the dorsolateral thoracic protuberances was identified as the most important trait for species discrimination, but among the morphological features checked, none could flawlessly discriminate between both species. We recommend the use of molecular techniques in future studies of invasive Mytilicola to reliably discriminate between the species. The morphological similarity of these two invaders suggests a more general problem of cryptic invasions and compromised identification of parasites in invaded ecosystems. This problem should be borne in mind whenever invasive parasites are investigated

Myoclonus-dystonia : distinctive motor and non-motor phenotype from other dystonia syndromes

Background: myoclonus-dystonia (M-D) due to a pathogenic variant of SGCE is an autosomal dominant inherited movement disorder. Apart from motor symptoms, psychiatric disorders are highly prevalent in patients with MD. Previous studies suggest, but never tested directly, that the type of psychiatric disorder differs between dystonia syndromes, probably related to disease specific pathology. Little is known about other non-motor symptoms (NMS) in M.D. Here, we systematically study NMS in M-D in direct comparison to other types of dystonia and healthy controls. Methods: Standardized questionnaires were used to assess type and severity of psychiatric co-morbidity, sleep problems, fatigue and quality of life. Results of M-D patients with a pathogenic variant of SGCE were compared to results of idiopathic cervical dystonia (CD) patients, dopa-responsive dystonia (DRD) patients with a pathogenic variant of GCH1 and controls. Results: We included 164 participants: 41 M-D, 51 CD, 19 DRD patients, 53 controls. Dystonia patients (M-D, CD and DRD) had an increased prevalence of psychiatric disorders compared to controls (56-74% vs. 29%). In M-D we found a significantly increased prevalence of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and psychosis compared to CD and DRD. All dystonia patients had more sleep problems (49-68% vs. 36%) and fatigue (42-73% vs. 15%) than controls. Compared to other dystonia subtypes, M-D patients reported less excessive daytime sleepiness and fatigue. Conclusion: Psychiatric comorbidity is frequent in all dystonia types, but OCD and psychosis are more common in M-D patients. Further research is necessary to elucidate underlying pathways

Spontaneous scapular spine fracture related to rotator cuff pathology: a report of two cases

Spontaneous fractures of the scapula are rare, especially those involving the scapular spine. There are only a few case reports addressing this topic. Two cases are presented of spontaneous scapular spine fractures in patients with cuff-tear arthropathy. Treatment was conservative, resulting in a stiff shoulder in both patients. The combination of oral steroids and cuff-tear arthropathy seems to have caused a spontaneous scapular spine fracture in these patients. Considering the risk of operative intervention in the elderly patient conservative treatment seems a reasonable alternative

Организационная модель аудита доходов санаторно-курортных предприятий

Целью статьи является определение сущности с учетом взглядов ученых и обоснование особенностей организационной модели аудита доходов санаторно-курортных организаций.Метою статті є визначення суті з урахуванням поглядів учених і обґрунтування особливостей організаційної моделі аудиту доходів санаторно-курортних організацій

Biological invasions and host–parasite coevolution: different coevolutionary trajectories along separate parasite invasion fronts

Host–parasite coevolution has rarely been observed in natural systems. Its study often relies on microparasitic infections introducing a potential bias in the estimation of the evolutionary change of host and parasite traits. Using biological invasions as a tool to study host–parasite coevolution in nature can overcome these biases. We demonstrate this with a cross-infection experiment in the invasive macroparasite <i>Mytilicola intestinalis</i> and its bivalve host, the blue mussel <i>Mytilus edulis</i>. The invasion history of the parasite is well known for the southeastern North Sea and is characterised by two separate invasion fronts that reached opposite ends of the Wadden Sea (i.e. Texel, The Netherlands and Sylt, Germany) in a similar time frame. The species’ natural history thus makes this invasion an ideal natural experiment to study host–parasite coevolution in nature. We infected hosts from Texel, Sylt and Kiel (Baltic Sea, where the parasite is absent) with parasites from Texel and Sylt, to form sympatric, allopatric and naïve infestation combinations, respectively. We measured infection rate, host condition and parasite growth to show that sympatric host–parasite combinations diverged in terms of pre- and post-infection traits within <100 generations since their introduction. Texel parasites were more infective and more efficient at exploiting the host’s resources. Hosts on Texel, on the other hand, evolved resistance to infection, whereas hosts on Sylt may have evolved tolerance. This illustrates that different coevolutionary trajectories can evolve along separate invasion fronts of the parasite, highlighting the use of biological invasions in studies of host–parasite coevolution in nature

Nur77-deficiency in bone marrow-derived macrophages modulates inflammatory responses, extracellular matrix homeostasis, phagocytosis and tolerance

The nuclear orphan receptor Nur77 (NR4A1, TR3, or NGFI-B) has been shown to modulate the inflammatory response of macrophages. To further elucidate the role of Nur77 in macrophage physiology, we compared the transcriptome of bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMM) from wild-type (WT) and Nur77-knockout (KO) mice. In line with previous observations, SDF-1α (CXCL12) was among the most upregulated genes in Nur77-deficient BMM and we demonstrated that Nur77 binds directly to the SDF-1α promoter, resulting in inhibition of SDF-1α expression. The cytokine receptor CX3CR1 was strongly downregulated in Nur77-KO BMM, implying involvement of Nur77 in macrophage tolerance. Ingenuity pathway analyses (IPA) to identify canonical pathways regulation and gene set enrichment analyses (GSEA) revealed a potential role for Nur77 in extracellular matrix homeostasis. Nur77-deficiency increased the collagen content of macrophage extracellular matrix through enhanced expression of several collagen subtypes and diminished matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9 activity. IPA upstream regulator analyses discerned the small GTPase Rac1 as a novel regulator of Nur77-mediated gene expression. We identified an inhibitory feedback loop with increased Rac1 activity in Nur77-KO BMM, which may explain the augmented phagocytic activity of these cells. Finally, we predict multiple chronic inflammatory diseases to be influenced by macrophage Nur77 expression. GSEA and IPA associated Nur77 to osteoarthritis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, and allergic airway inflammatory diseases. Altogether these data identify Nur77 as a modulator of macrophage function and an interesting target to treat chronic inflammatory diseas

Fourier transform microwave spectroscopy of Ac-Ser-NH2: the role of side chain interactions in peptide folding

Serine capped dipeptide N-acetyl-L-serinamide (Ac-Ser-NH2) has been investigated using Fourier transform microwave spectroscopic techniques combined with laser ablation sources. Spectral signatures originating from one dominant species have been detected in the supersonic expansion. Rotational and nuclear quadrupole coupling constants of the two 14N nuclei have been used in the characterization of a Ceq/g-turn structure, which is stabilized by a C7O·· ·HN intramolecular hydrogen bond closing a seven-membered ring. Two extra hydrogen bonds involving the polar side chain (–CH2OH) further stabilize the structure. The non-observation of C5 species, attributed to the presence of the polar side chain, is in contrast with the previous gas phase observation of the related dipeptides containing glycine or alanine residues. The A–E splitting pattern arising from the internal rotation of the methyl group has been analyzed and the internal rotation barrier has been determined