Maternal depressive symptoms and child social preference during the early school years: Mediation by maternal warmth and child emotion regulation

This longitudinal study examined processes that mediate the association between maternal depressive symptoms and peer social preference during the early school years. Three hundred and fifty six kindergarten children (182 boys) and their mothers participated in the study. During kindergarten, mothers reported their level of depressive symptomatology. In first grade, teachers rated children's emotion regulation at school and observers rated the affective quality of mother-child interactions. During second grade, children's social preference was assessed by peer nomination. Results indicated that mothers' level of depressive symptomatology negatively predicted their child's social preference 2 years later, controlling for the family SES and teacher-rated social preference during kindergarten. Among European American families, the association between maternal depressive symptoms and social preference was partially mediated by maternal warmth and the child's emotion regulation. Although the relation between maternal depressive symptoms and children peer preference was stronger among African American families than Europrean American families, its mediation by the maternal warmth and child's emotion regulation was not found in African American families. © 2010 The Author(s).published_or_final_versionSpringer Open Choice, 21 Feb 201

Directed Evolution of Protein-Based Neurotransmitter Sensors for MRI

The production of contrast agents sensitive to neuronal signaling events is a rate-limiting step in the development of molecular-level functional magnetic resonance imaging (molecular fMRI) approaches for studying the brain. High-throughput generation and evaluation of potential probes are possible using techniques for macromolecular engineering of protein-based contrast agents. In an initial exploration of this strategy, we used the method of directed evolution to identify mutants of a bacterial heme protein that allowed detection of the neurotransmitter dopamine in vitro and in living animals. The directed evolution method involves successive cycles of mutagenesis and screening that could be generalized to produce contrast agents sensitive to a variety of molecular targets in the nervous system

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

A Systematic Review of Mosquito Coils and Passive Emanators: Defining Recommendations for Spatial Repellency Testing Methodologies.

Mosquito coils, vaporizer mats and emanators confer protection against mosquito bites through the spatial action of emanated vapor or airborne pyrethroid particles. These products dominate the pest control market; therefore, it is vital to characterize mosquito responses elicited by the chemical actives and their potential for disease prevention. The aim of this review was to determine effects of mosquito coils and emanators on mosquito responses that reduce human-vector contact and to propose scientific consensus on terminologies and methodologies used for evaluation of product formats that could contain spatial chemical actives, including indoor residual spraying (IRS), long lasting insecticide treated nets (LLINs) and insecticide treated materials (ITMs). PubMed, (National Centre for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), U.S. National Library of Medicine, NIH), MEDLINE, LILAC, Cochrane library, IBECS and Armed Forces Pest Management Board Literature Retrieval System search engines were used to identify studies of pyrethroid based coils and emanators with key-words "Mosquito coils" "Mosquito emanators" and "Spatial repellents". It was concluded that there is need to improve statistical reporting of studies, and reach consensus in the methodologies and terminologies used through standardized testing guidelines. Despite differing evaluation methodologies, data showed that coils and emanators induce mortality, deterrence, repellency as well as reduce the ability of mosquitoes to feed on humans. Available data on efficacy outdoors, dose-response relationships and effective distance of coils and emanators is inadequate for developing a target product profile (TPP), which will be required for such chemicals before optimized implementation can occur for maximum benefits in disease control

Learning from errors:Assessing final year medical students' reflection on safety improvement, five year cohort study

Abstract Background Investigation of real incidents has been consistently identified by expert reviews and student surveys as a potentially valuable teaching resource for medical students. The aim of this study was to adapt a published method to measure resident doctors’ reflection on quality improvement and evaluate this as an assessment tool for medical students. Methods The design is a cohort study. Medical students were prepared with a tutorial in team based learning format and an online Managing Incident Review course. The reliability of the modified Mayo Evaluation of Reflection on Improvement tool (mMERIT) was analysed with Generalizability G-theory. Long term sustainability of assessment of incident review with mMERIT was tested over five consecutive years. Results A total of 824 students have completed an incident review using 167 incidents from NHS Tayside’s online reporting system. In order to address the academic practice gap students were supervised by Senior Charge Nurses or Consultants on the wards where the incidents had been reported. Inter-rater reliability was considered sufficiently high to have one assessor for each student report. There was no evidence of a gradient in student marks across the academic year. Marks were significantly higher for students who used Section Questions to structure their reports compared with those who did not. In Year 1 of the study 21 (14%) of 153 mMERIT reports were graded as concern. All 21 of these students achieved the required standard on resubmission. Rates of resubmission were lower (3% to 7%) in subsequent years. Conclusions We have shown that mMERIT has high reliability with one rater. mMERIT can be used by students as part of a suite of feedback to help supplement their self-assessment on their learning needs and develop insightful practice to drive their development of quality, safety and person centred professional practice. Incident review addresses the need for workplace based learning and use of real life examples of mistakes, which has been identified by previous studies of education about patient safety in medical schools

Quantifying the real life risk profile of inhaled corticosteroids in COPD by record linkage analysis

BACKGROUND: Inhaled corticosteroids (ICS), especially when prescribed in combination with long-acting β(2) agonists have been shown to improve COPD outcomes. Although there is consistent evidence linking ICS with adverse effects such as pneumonia, the complete risk profile is unclear with conflicting evidence on any association between ICS and the incidence or worsening of existing diabetes, cataracts and fractures. We investigated this using record linkage in a Dundee COPD population. METHODS: A record linkage study linking COPD and diabetes datasets with prescription, hospitalisation and mortality data via a unique Community Health Index (CHI) number. A Cox regression model was used to determine the association between ICS use and new diabetes or worsening of existing diabetes and hospitalisations for pneumonia, fractures or cataracts after adjusting for potential confounders. A time dependent analysis of exposure comparing time on versus off ICS was used to take into account patients changing their exposure status during follow-up and to prevent immortal time bias. RESULTS: 4305 subjects (3243 exposed to ICS, total of 17,229 person-years of exposure and 1062 non exposed, with a follow-up of 4,508 patient-years) were eligible for the study. There were 239 cases of new diabetes (DM) and 265 cases of worsening DM, 550 admissions for pneumonia, 288 hospitalisations for fracture and 505 cataract related admissions. The hazard ratio for the association between cumulative ICS and outcomes were 0.70 (0.43-1.12), 0.57 (0.24-1.37), 1.38 (1.09-1.74), 1.08 (0.73-1.59) and 1.42 (1.07-1.88) after multivariate analysis respectively. CONCLUSION: The use of ICS in our cohort was not associated with new onset of diabetes, worsening of existing diabetes or fracture hospitalisation. There was however an association with increased cataracts and pneumonia hospitalisations

Aldo-keto reductases are biomarkers of NRF2 activity and are co-ordinately overexpressed in non-small cell lung cancer

BACKGROUND: Although the nuclear factor-erythroid 2-related factor 2 (NRF2) pathway is one of the most frequently dysregulated in cancer, it is not clear whether mutational status is a good predictor of NRF2 activity. Here we utilise four members of the aldo-keto reductase (AKR) superfamily as biomarkers to address this question. METHODS: Twenty-three cell lines of diverse origin and NRF2-pathway mutational status were used to determine the relationship between AKR expression and NRF2 activity. AKR expression was evaluated in lung cancer biopsies and Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Oncomine data sets. RESULTS: AKRs were expressed at a high basal level in cell lines carrying mutations in the NRF2 pathway. In non-mutant cell lines, co-ordinate induction of AKRs was consistently observed following activation of NRF2. Immunohistochemical analysis of lung tumour biopsies and interrogation of TCGA data revealed that AKRs are enriched in both squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) and adenocarcinomas that contain somatic alterations in the NRF2 pathway but, in the case of SCC, AKRs were also enriched in most other tumours. CONCLUSIONS: An AKR biomarker panel can be used to determine NRF2 status in tumours. Hyperactivation of the NRF2 pathway is far more prevalent in lung SCC than previously predicted by genomic analyses

The XMM-Newton serendipitous survey - II. First results from the AXIS high galactic latitude medium sensitivity survey

We present the first results on the identifications of a medium sensitivity survey (X-ray flux limit 2 x 10(-14) erg cm(-2) s(-1) in the 0.5-4.5 keV band) at high galactic latitude (\b\ > 20degrees) carried out with the XMM-Newton X-ray observatory within the AXIS observing programme. This study is being conducted as part of the XMM-Newton Survey Science Centre activities towards the identification of the sources in the X-ray serendipitous sky survey. The sample contains 29 X-ray sources in a solid angle of 0.26 deg(2) (source density 113 +/- 21 sources deg(-2)), out of which 27 (93%) have been identified. The majority of the sources are broad-line AGN (19), followed by narrow emission line X-ray emitting galaxies (6, all of which turn out to be AGN), 1 nearby non-emission line galaxy (NGC 4291) and 1 active coronal star. Among the identified sources we find 2 broad-absorption line QSOs (z similar to 1.8 and z similar to 1.9), which constitute similar to10% of the AGN population at this flux level, similar to optically selected samples. Identifications of a further 10 X-ray sources fainter than our survey limit are also presented

Expression of stabilized β-catenin in differentiated neurons of transgenic mice does not result in tumor formation

BACKGROUND: Medulloblastomas, embryonal tumors arising in the cerebellum, commonly contain mutations that activate Wnt signaling. To determine whether increased Wnt signaling in the adult CNS is sufficient to induce tumor formation, we created transgenic mice expressing either wild-type or activated β-catenin in the brain. METHODS: Wild-type and mutant human β-catenin transgenes were expressed under the control of a murine PrP promoter fragment that drives high level postnatal expression in the CNS. Mutant β-catenin was stabilized by a serine to phenylalanine alteration in codon 37. RESULTS: Expression of the mutant transgene resulted in an approximately two-fold increase in β-catenin protein levels in the cortex and cerebellum of adult animals. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed nuclear β-catenin in hippocampal, cortical and cerebellar neurons of transgenic animals but not in non-transgenic controls. Tail kinking was observed in some transgenic animals, but no CNS malformations or tumors were detected. CONCLUSIONS: No tumors or morphologic alterations were detected in the brains of transgenic mice expressing stabilized β-catenin, suggesting that postnatal Wnt signaling in differentiated neurons may not be sufficient to induce CNS tumorigenesis