Symposium Review: Exiled Among Nations: German and Mennonite Mythologies in a Transnational Age—John P.R. Eicher

In his book Exiled Among Nations: German and Mennonite Mythologies in a Transnational Age, historian John P.R. Eicher chronicles the stories of two Mennonite colonies transplanted during the rise of nationalism. As the introduction makes clear, though, the book is more than a mere record of history; it aims to show how “mobile populations fashion collective narratives as nations, religions, and diasporas.” The book can therefore be understood on two different levels. It acts as a straightforward history from 1874 to 1945, of the migrant Menno Colony’s (from Canada) and the refugee Fernheim Colony’s (from Russia) inception in Paraguay. As an explanation, it also attempts to, through the microcosm of the two colonies, “uncover the insecurities and ambiguities that accompanied the formation of modern nation states, which was the largest and most destructive experiment in the history of social engineering.

A systematic review of factors influencing treatment adherence in chronic inflammatory skin disease – strategies for optimizing treatment outcome

Adherence describes how a patient follows a medical regime recommended by a healthcare provider. Poor treatment adherence represents a complex and challenging problem of international healthcare systems, as it has a substantial impact on clinical outcomes and patient safety and constitutes an important financial burden. Since it is one of the most common causes of treatment failure, it is extremely important for physicians to reliably distinguish between non‐adherence and non‐response. This systematic review aims to summarize the current literature on treatment adherence in dermatology, focusing on chronic inflammatory skin diseases such as psoriasis, atopic dermatitis and acne. A systematic literature search was performed using the PubMed Database, including articles from 2008 to 2018. Low treatment adherence is a multidimensional phenomenon defined by the interplay of numerous factors and should under no circumstances be considered as the patient's fault alone. Factors influencing treatment adherence in dermatology include patient characteristics and beliefs, treatment efficacy and duration, administration routes, disease chronicity and the disease itself. Moreover, the quality of the physician‐patient relationship including physician‐time available for the patient plays an important role. Understanding patients’ adherence patterns and the main drivers of non‐adherence creates opportunities to improve adherence in the future. Strategies to increase treatment adherence range from reminder programs to simplifying prescriptions or educational interventions. Absolute adherence to treatment may not be realistically achievable, but efforts need to be made to raise awareness in order to maximize adherence as far as possible

Leukocyte function and health status of calves supplemented with vitamins A and E

Forty-four Holstein calves were fed milk replacers with varied concentrations of vitamins A and E from 3 to 45 d of age to determine their effects on concentrations of plasma vitamin A (retinol and retinyl palmitate) and vitamin E (a- tocopherol), lymphocyte and neutrophil functions, and health of calves. Plasma a-tocopherol was unaffected by increased vitamin A supplementation. Fecal scores, and eye and nose membrane responses were improved with increased vitamin A and lower vitamin E concentration, whereas the same treatment tended to reduce neutrophil cytotoxic and bactericidal activity by 6 wk of age. Increased supplemental vitamin E tended to enhance neutrophil functions. However, age appeared to have an effect on response to both vitamins

Dyslexia and language impairment associated genetic markers influence cortical thickness and white matter in typically developing children

Dyslexia and language impairment (LI) are complex traits with substantial genetic components. We recently completed an association scan of the DYX2 locus, where we observed associations of markers in DCDC2, KIAA0319, ACOT13, and FAM65B with reading-, language-, and IQ-related traits. Additionally, the effects of reading-associated DYX3 markers were recently characterized using structural neuroimaging techniques. Here, we assessed the neuroimaging implications of associated DYX2 and DYX3 markers, using cortical volume, cortical thickness, and fractional anisotropy. To accomplish this, we examined eight DYX2 and three DYX3 markers in 332 subjects in the Pediatrics Imaging Neurocognition Genetics study. Imaging-genetic associations were examined by multiple linear regression, testing for influence of genotype on neuroimaging. Markers in DYX2 genes KIAA0319 and FAM65B were associated with cortical thickness in the left orbitofrontal region and global fractional anisotropy, respectively. KIAA0319 and ACOT13 were suggestively associated with overall fractional anisotropy and left pars opercularis cortical thickness, respectively. DYX3 markers showed suggestive associations with cortical thickness and volume measures in temporal regions. Notably, we did not replicate association of DYX3 markers with hippocampal measures. In summary, we performed a neuroimaging follow-up of reading-, language-, and IQ-associated DYX2 and DYX3 markers. DYX2 associations with cortical thickness may reflect variations in their role in neuronal migration. Furthermore, our findings complement gene expression and imaging studies implicating DYX3 markers in temporal regions. These studies offer insight into where and how DYX2 and DYX3 risk variants may influence neuroimaging traits. Future studies should further connect the pathways to risk variants associated with neuroimaging/neurocognitive outcomes

The M33 Variable Star Population Revealed by Spitzer

We analyze five epochs of Spitzer Space Telescope/Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) observations of the nearby spiral galaxy M33. Each epoch covered nearly a square degree at 3.6, 4.5, and 8.0 microns. The point source catalog from the full dataset contains 37,650 stars. The stars have luminosities characteristic of the asymptotic giant branch and can be separated into oxygen-rich and carbon-rich populations by their [3.6] - [4.5] colors. The [3.6] - [8.0] colors indicate that over 80% of the stars detected at 8.0 microns have dust shells. Photometric comparison of epochs using conservative criteria yields a catalog of 2,923 variable stars. These variables are most likely long-period variables amidst an evolved stellar population. At least one-third of the identified carbon stars are variable.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ. See published article for full resolution figures and electronic table

Organization of Multinational Activities and Ownership Structure

We develop a model in which multinational investors decide about the modes of organization, the locations of production, and the markets to be served. Foreign investments are driven by market-seeking and cost-reducing motives. We further assume that investors face costs of control that vary among sectors and increase in distance. The results show that (i) production intensive sectors are more likely to operate a foreign business independent of the investment motive, (ii) that distance may have a non-monotonous effect on the likelihood of horizontal investments, and (iii) that globalization, if understood as reducing distance, leads to more integration

Psoriasis bei Dupilumab-behandeltem atopischem Ekzem

Dupilumab ist ein monoklonaler Antikörper, der an die gemeinsame α‑Kette des IL(Interleukin)-4- und IL-13-Rezeptors bindet und den Th(T-Helferzelle)2-Signalweg blockiert, der bei der Entstehung des atopischen Ekzems eine Schlüsselrolle spielt. Wir berichten über den Fall eines 40-jährigen Patienten, der nach 6 Wochen Dupilumab-Therapie eine histologisch gesicherte Psoriasis entwickelte. Das eigenmächtige, abrupte Absetzen der ungewöhnlichen, nicht leitliniengerechten oralen Steroidtherapie und die Blockade des Th2-Signalwegs durch Dupilumab dürften die entscheidenden Auslösefaktoren für die erstmalige Ausbildung der Psoriasis bei unserem Patienten gewesen sein

Daily Dietary Intake Patterns Improve after Visiting a Food Pantry among Food-Insecure Rural Midwestern Adults.

Emergency food pantries provide food at no cost to low-resource populations. The purpose of this study was to evaluate single-day dietary intake patterns before and after visiting a food pantry among food-secure and food-insecure pantry clients. This observational cohort study comprised a paired, before-and-after design with a pantry visit as the intervention. Participants (n = 455) completed a demographic and food security assessment, and two 24-h dietary recalls. Adult food security was measured using the U.S. Household Food Security Survey Module. Dietary intake patterns were assessed using Automated Self-Administered 24-h Recall data and classified by Healthy Eating Index (HEI-2010) scores, dietary variety, number of eating occasions, and energy intake. Paired t-tests and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests compared outcomes before and after a pantry visit. Mean dietary variety increased after the pantry visit among both food-secure (p = 0.02) and food-insecure (p \u3c 0.0001) pantry clients. Mean energy intake (p = 0.0003), number of eating occasions (p = 0.004), and HEI-2010 component scores for total fruit (p \u3c 0.001) and whole fruit (p \u3c 0.0003) increased among food-insecure pantry clients only. A pantry visit may improve dietary intake patterns, especially among food-insecure pantry clients

Occupational and leisure time physical activity in contrasting relation to ambulatory blood pressure

Background: While moderate and vigorous leisure time physical activities are well documented to decrease the risk for cardiovascular disease, several studies have demonstrated an increased risk for cardiovascular disease in workers with high occupational activity. Research on the underlying causes to the contrasting effects of occupational and leisure time physical activity on cardiovascular health is lacking. The aim of this study was to examine the relation of objective and self-report measures of occupational and leisure time physical activity with 24-h ambulatory systolic blood pressure (BP). Methods: Results for self-reported physical activity are based on observations in 182 workers (60% male, mean age 51 years), while valid objective physical activity data were available in 151 participants. The usual level of physical activity was assessed by 5 items from the Job Content Questionnaire (high physical effort, lifting heavy loads, rapid physical activity, awkward body positions and awkward positions of head or arms at work) and one item asking about the general level of physical activity during non-working time. On a regular working day, participants wore an ambulatory BP monitor and an accelerometer physical activity monitor during 24 h. Associations were examined by means of Analysis of Covariance. Results: Workers with an overall high level of self-reported occupational physical activity as well as those who reported to often lift heavy loads at work had a higher mean systolic BP at work, at home and during sleep. However, no associations were observed between objectively measured occupational physical activity and BP. In contrast, those with objectively measured high proportion of moderate and vigorous leisure time physical activity had a significantly lower mean systolic BP during daytime, while no differences were observed according to self-reported level of leisure time physical activity. Conclusions: These findings suggest that workers reporting static occupational physical activities, unlike general physically demanding tasks characterized by dynamic movements of large muscle groups, are related to a higher daily systolic BP, while high objective levels of moderate and vigorous leisure time physical activity are related to lower daytime systolic BP. Ambulatory systolic BP may be a physiological explanatory factor for the contrasting effects of occupational and leisure time physical activity

Homozygosity for a missense mutation in the 67 kDa isoform of glutamate decarboxylase in a family with autosomal recessive spastic cerebral palsy: parallels with Stiff-Person Syndrome and other movement disorders

Background Cerebral palsy (CP) is an heterogeneous group of neurological disorders of movement and/or posture, with an estimated incidence of 1 in 1000 live births. Non-progressive forms of symmetrical, spastic CP have been identified, which show a Mendelian autosomal recessive pattern of inheritance. We recently described the mapping of a recessive spastic CP locus to a 5 cM chromosomal region located at 2q24-31.1, in rare consanguineous families. Methods Here we present data that refine this locus to a 0.5 cM region, flanked by the microsatellite markers D2S2345 and D2S326. The minimal region contains the candidate gene GAD1, which encodes a glutamate decarboxylase isoform (GAD67), involved in conversion of the amino acid and excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate to the inhibitory neurotransmitter γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA). Results A novel amino acid mis-sense mutation in GAD67 was detected, which segregated with CP in affected individuals. Conclusions This result is interesting because auto-antibodies to GAD67 and the more widely studied GAD65 homologue encoded by the GAD2 gene, are described in patients with Stiff-Person Syndrome (SPS), epilepsy, cerebellar ataxia and Batten disease. Further investigation seems merited of the possibility that variation in the GAD1 sequence, potentially affecting glutamate/GABA ratios, may underlie this form of spastic CP, given the presence of anti-GAD antibodies in SPS and the recognised excitotoxicity of glutamate in various contexts