Benign afebrile cluster convulsions with gastroenteritis: an observational study

BACKROUND: The occurrence of afebrile seizures in association with viral gastroenteritis, without dehydration or electrolyte imbalance, is virtually unknown outside Asia. They are reported to have a benign prognosis and not to require specific investigations or therapy. METHODS: We report the occurrence of such afebrile convulsions in association with viral gastroenteritis without dehydration or electrolyte imbalance, over a 3-year period, in a cohort of 14 British children. RESULTS: The children (5 males and 9 females, 10 Caucasians and 4 Asians) were aged 9 to 60 months (median 14.5 months). All 14 had a normal neurological examination and normal serum biochemistry. Twelve children had generalised seizures and 2 had, in addition, absence seizures. The number of seizures per child ranged from 1 to 8. Most convulsions were short with 85.7% of children having the longest seizure not longer than 4 minutes. The longest duration for a seizure was 10 minutes and occurred in 2 children. Convulsions did not recur after the first day in 10 children, 3 children had recurrences the second day and one child on the fourth day. No convulsions recurred after 4 days. Cerebrospinal fluid studies, computed tomography and electroencephalogram (EEG) were performed on two children who had prolonged seizures and the results were normal. No pathogenic bacteria were grown in any of the stools. Enzyme immunoassay detection of Rotavirus in the stools was positive in 7 of the 10 children where it was tested. All 14 children recovered spontaneously within a few days. On long-term follow of up to 31 months (median 16 months), none had further convulsions and all had normal development milestones. CONCLUSIONS: Afebrile seizures in association with viral gastroenteritis do also occur outside Asia. Recognition of this entity should lead to reassurance of the parents. As in previously published series, investigations such as lumbar puncture, neuroimaging and EEG are usually normal and may not be necessary in most cases. Likewise, published data indicate that long-term anticonvulsant therapy is not usually warranted and the prognosis seems to be reassuring

What we talk about when we talk about "global mindset": managerial cognition in multinational corporations

Recent developments in the global economy and in multinational corporations have placed significant emphasis on the cognitive orientations of managers, giving rise to a number of concepts such as “global mindset” that are presumed to be associated with the effective management of multinational corporations (MNCs). This paper reviews the literature on global mindset and clarifies some of the conceptual confusion surrounding the construct. We identify common themes across writers, suggesting that the majority of studies fall into one of three research perspectives: cultural, strategic, and multidimensional. We also identify two constructs from the social sciences that underlie the perspectives found in the literature: cosmopolitanism and cognitive complexity and use these two constructs to develop an integrative theoretical framework of global mindset. We then provide a critical assessment of the field of global mindset and suggest directions for future theoretical and empirical research

Utility of multispectral imaging for nuclear classification of routine clinical histopathology imagery

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>We present an analysis of the utility of multispectral versus standard RGB imagery for routine H&E stained histopathology images, in particular for pixel-level classification of nuclei. Our multispectral imagery has 29 spectral bands, spaced 10 nm within the visual range of 420–700 nm. It has been hypothesized that the additional spectral bands contain further information useful for classification as compared to the 3 standard bands of RGB imagery. We present analyses of our data designed to test this hypothesis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>For classification using all available image bands, we find the best performance (equal tradeoff between detection rate and false alarm rate) is obtained from either the multispectral or our "ccd" RGB imagery, with an overall increase in performance of 0.79% compared to the next best performing image type. For classification using single image bands, the single best multispectral band (in the red portion of the spectrum) gave a performance increase of 0.57%, compared to performance of the single best RGB band (red). Additionally, red bands had the highest coefficients/preference in our classifiers. Principal components analysis of the multispectral imagery indicates only two significant image bands, which is not surprising given the presence of two stains.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our results indicate that multispectral imagery for routine H&E stained histopathology provides minimal additional spectral information for a pixel-level nuclear classification task than would standard RGB imagery.</p

Modulation of apoptosis by V protein mumps virus

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The Urabe AM9 vaccine strain of mumps virus contains two variants of V protein: VWT (of HN-A1081 viral population) and VGly (of HN-G1081). The V protein is a promoting factor of viral replication by blocking the IFN antiviral pathway.</p> <p>Findings</p> <p>We studied the relationship between V protein variants and IFN-α2b-induced apoptosis. V proteins decrease activation of the extrinsic IFN-α2b-induced apoptotic pathway monitored by the caspase 8 activity, being the effect greater with the VWT protein. Both V proteins decrease the activity of caspase 9 of the intrinsic apoptotic pathway. In a system without IFN, the VWT and VGly proteins expression promotes activation of caspases 3 and 7. However, when the cellular system was stimulated with IFN-α, this activity decreased partially. TUNEL assay shows that for treatment with IFN-α and ibuprofen of cervical adenocarcinoma cells there is nuclear DNA fragmentation but the V protein expression reduces this process.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The reduction in the levels of caspases and DNA fragmentation, suggesting that V protein, particularly VWT protein of Urabe AM9 vaccine strain, modulates apoptosis. In addition, the VWT protein shows a protective role for cell proliferation in the presence of antiproliferative signals.</p

Overexpression of the aphid-induced serine protease inhibitor <i>CI2c </i>gene in barley affects the generalist green peach aphid, not the specialist bird cherry-oat aphid

<div><p>Aphids are serious pests in crop plants. In an effort to identify plant genes controlling resistance against aphids, we have here studied a protease inhibitor, CI2c in barley (<i>Hordeum vulgare</i> L.). The <i>CI2c</i> gene was earlier shown to be upregulated by herbivory of the bird cherry-oat aphid <i>(Rhopalosiphum padi</i> L.<i>)</i> in barley genotypes with moderate resistance against this aphid, but not in susceptible lines. We hypothesized that CI2c contributes to the resistance. To test this idea, cDNA encoding <i>CI2c</i> was overexpressed in barley and bioassays were carried out with <i>R</i>. <i>padi</i>. For comparison, tests were carried out with the green peach aphid (<i>Myzus persicae</i> Sulzer), for which barley is a poor host. The performance of <i>R</i>. <i>padi</i> was not different on the <i>CI2c</i>-overexpressing lines in comparison to controls in test monitoring behavior and fecundity. <i>M</i>. <i>persicae</i> preference was affected as shown in the choice test, this species moved away from control plants, but remained on the <i>CI2c</i>-overexpressing lines. <i>R</i>. <i>padi</i>-induced responses related to defense were repressed in the overexpressing lines as compared to in control plants or the moderately resistant genotypes. A putative susceptibility gene, coding for a β-1,3-glucanase was more strongly induced by aphids in one of the <i>CI2c</i>-overexpressing lines. The results indicate that the CI2c inhibitor in overexpressing lines affects aphid-induced responses by suppressing defense. This is of little consequence to the specialist <i>R</i>.<i>padi</i>, but causes lower non-host resistance towards the generalist <i>M</i>. <i>persicae</i> in barley.</p></div

Offspring Production among the Extended Relatives of Samoan Men and Fa'afafine

Androphilia refers to sexual attraction to adult males, whereas gynephilia refers to sexual attraction to adult females. Male androphilia is an evolutionary paradox. Its development is at least partially influenced by genetic factors, yet male androphiles exhibit lower reproductive output, thus raising the question of how genetic factors underlying its development persist. The sexual antagonism hypothesis posits that the fitness costs associated with genetic factors underlying male androphilia are offset because these same factors lead to elevated reproduction on the part of the female relatives of androphilic males. Western samples drawn from low fertility populations have yielded inconsistent results when testing this hypothesis. Some studies documented elevated reproduction among the matrilineal female kin of androphilic males, whereas others found such effects in the paternal line. Samoa is a high-fertility population in which individuals reproduce closer to their maximum capacities. This study compared the reproductive output of the paternal and maternal line grandmothers, aunts, and uncles of 86 Samoan androphilic males, known locally as fa'afafine, and 86 Samoan gynephilic males. Reproductive output was elevated in the paternal and maternal line grandmothers, but not aunts or uncles, of fa'afafine. These findings are consistent with the sexual antagonism hypothesis and suggest that male androphilia is associated with elevated reproduction among extended relatives in both the maternal and paternal line. Discussion focuses on how this study, in conjunction with the broader literature, informs various models for the evolution of male androphilia via elevated reproduction on the part of female kin

Genetic and Environmental Influences on Female Sexual Orientation, Childhood Gender Typicality and Adult Gender Identity

Background: Human sexual orientation is influenced by genetic and non-shared environmental factors as are two important psychological correlates – childhood gender typicality (CGT) and adult gender identity (AGI). However, researchers have been unable to resolve the genetic and non-genetic components that contribute to the covariation between these traits, particularly in women. Methodology/Principal Findings: Here we performed a multivariate genetic analysis in a large sample of British female twins (N = 4,426) who completed a questionnaire assessing sexual attraction, CGT and AGI. Univariate genetic models indicated modest genetic influences on sexual attraction (25%), AGI (11%) and CGT (31%). For the multivariate analyses, a common pathway model best fitted the data. Conclusions/Significance: This indicated that a single latent variable influenced by a genetic component and common nonshared environmental component explained the association between the three traits but there was substantial measurement error. These findings highlight common developmental factors affecting differences in sexual orientation

The disruption of proteostasis in neurodegenerative diseases

Cells count on surveillance systems to monitor and protect the cellular proteome which, besides being highly heterogeneous, is constantly being challenged by intrinsic and environmental factors. In this context, the proteostasis network (PN) is essential to achieve a stable and functional proteome. Disruption of the PN is associated with aging and can lead to and/or potentiate the occurrence of many neurodegenerative diseases (ND). This not only emphasizes the importance of the PN in health span and aging but also how its modulation can be a potential target for intervention and treatment of human diseases.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

20-Year Risks of Breast-Cancer Recurrence after Stopping Endocrine Therapy at 5 Years

The administration of endocrine therapy for 5 years substantially reduces recurrence rates during and after treatment in women with early-stage, estrogen-receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer. Extending such therapy beyond 5 years offers further protection but has additional side effects. Obtaining data on the absolute risk of subsequent distant recurrence if therapy stops at 5 years could help determine whether to extend treatment