The timing of cod spawning on the Scotian Shelf

We used results from the Scotian Shelf Ichtyoplankton Programme to describe the spatial and temporal distributions of cod eggs and larvae off the coast of Nova Scotia. Summer spawning is restricted to the waters along the Laurentian Channel. Eggs and/or larvae are found in the spring in all areas where spawning activities are detected. Late fall - early winter spawning takes place over several banks and along the southern coast of Nova Scotia. A match between the seasonal blooms and the time of spawning does not appear to be essential, although it might exist in the spring. Larval drift from spawning grounds to nursery grounds is apparently rare on the Scotlan Shelf. These findings are discussed with reference to the match-mismatch hypothesis of Cushing

The timing of cod spawning on the Scotian Shelf

We used results from the Scotian Shelf Ichtyoplankton Programme to describe the spatial and temporal distributions of cod eggs and larvae off the coast of Nova Scotia. Summer spawning is restricted to the waters along the Laurentian Channel. Eggs and/or larvae are found in the spring in all areas where spawning activities are detected. Late fall - early winter spawning takes place over several banks and along the southern coast of Nova Scotia. A match between the seasonal blooms and the time of spawning does not appear to be essential, although it might exist in the spring. Larval drift from spawning grounds to nursery grounds is apparently rare on the Scotlan Shelf. These findings are discussed with reference to the match-mismatch hypothesis of Cushing

Response shift masks the treatment impact on patient reported outcomes (PROs): the example of individual quality of life in edentulous patients

BACKGROUND: Quality of life (QoL) is now established as an important outcome for evaluating the impact of disease, and for assessing the efficacy of treatments. However, individuals change with time and the basis on which they make a QoL judgement may also change, a phenomenon increasingly referred to as response shift. Here, the individual may change his or her internal standards, values, and/or conceptualization on the target construct as a result of external factors such as a treatment or a change in health status. This has important implications for assessing the effects of treatments as a change in QoL may reflect a response shift, a treatment effect, or a complex combination of both. In this study, we used an individualised quality of life (IQoL) measure, the SEIQoL, together with a then-test to determine whether response shift would influence the measurement of treatment efficacy in edentulous patients. METHODS: Data are reported here for the first phase of a randomised controlled clinical trial designed to assess the impact, on IQoL, of implant supported dentures compared with high quality conventional dentures. IQoL was measured using the SEIQoL-DW in 117 patients (mean age 64.8; 32% male) at baseline (T(1)) and 3 months (T(2)) after receiving high quality conventional dentures. The work was carried out in dental teaching hospitals in Dublin and Belfast. RESULTS: Unadjusted SEIQoL index scores revealed no significant impact of treatment at three months (baseline: 75.0; 3 months: 73.2, p = .33, n.s.). However, the then-test at 3 months revealed that patients retrospectively rated their baseline IQoL as significantly lower (P < .001) than they had rated it at the time (then-test baseline: 69.2). Comparison of the 3 month scores with this readjusted baseline indicated a significant treatment effect (then-test baseline: 69.2; 3 months: 73.2, p = 0.016). 81% of patients nominated at least one different IQoL domain at 3 months. CONCLUSION: The positive impact of denture treatment for edentulous patients on IQoL was seen only when response shifts were taken into consideration. The nature of the response shifts was highly complex but the data indicated a degree of re-conceptualisation and reprioritisation. Assessment of the impact of treatments using patient-generated reports must take account of the adaptive nature of patients

Training duration may not be a predisposing factor in potential maladaptations in talent development programmes that promote early specialisation in elite youth soccer

Purpose To determine whether training duration is a predisposing factor in potential maladaptations in talent development programmes that promote early specialisation in elite youth soccer. Methods Training times and type of 184 elite soccer players, from the under-9 to under-21 age groups (age 9.4 to 18.4 yrs; stature 1.38 to 1.82 m; body mass 32.2 to 76.2 kg) were recorded. Results Total training time progressively increased between the under-9 (268 ± 25 min/week) and under-14 (477 ± 19 min/week) groups with the majority of training time (96.5 ± 3.9%) consisting of soccer training and matches. Total training time then subsequently reduced from under-14 to under-15 (266 ± 77 min/week) groups, with no differences in training time between under-15 and under-21. Only under-15 to under-21 players completed resistance training; this inclusion coincided with a reduction in soccer training and match play when compared to time spent in these activities for younger groups (73.8 ± 3.2% of total training). Conclusion Data suggest that although the majority of training is focused on technical development, the training duration as a whole is unlikely to contribute to potential maladaptations in talent development programmes in elite youth soccer

Characterisation of the mode of action of Aurodox, a Type III secretion system inhibitor from Streptomyces goldiniensis

Recent work has demonstrated that the polyketide natural product Aurodox, from Streptomyces goldiniensis is able to block the pathogenesis of the murine pathogen Citrobacter rodentium. In this work we aimed to aimed gain a better understanding of the mechanism of action of the compound. We show that Aurodox downregulates the expression of the Type Three Secretion Systems of enteropathogenic and enterohaemorhagic Escherichia coli. Furthermore, we have used transcriptomic analysis to show that Aurodox inhibits the expression at the transcriptional level by repressing the master regulator, ler. Our data support a model in which Aurodox acts upstream of ler and not directly on the secretion system itself. Finally, we have shown that Aurodox, unlike some traditional antibiotics, does not induce expression of RecA, which is essential for the production of Shiga toxin. We propose that these properties nominate Aurodox as a promising anti-virulence therapy for the treatment of these infections

Assessing the quality of life of the individual: the SEIQoL with a healthy and a gastroenterology unit population

Current methods of measuring quality of life (QoL) impose an external value system on individuals, rather than allowing them to describe their lives in terms of those factors which they consider important. The Schedule for the Evaluation of Individual Quality of Life (SEIQoL) was developed to overcome such limitations. The QoL of 42 healthy attenders at an international immunization clinic was assessed using SEIQoL. Judgement reliability was high (r = 0·74) and individuals' judgement policies accounted for a large percentage of the variance in overall QoL (R2 = 0·75) demonstrating the construct validity of judgement analysis in this context. In a second study of QoL of out-patients suffering from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) (N = 20) or peptic ulcer disease (PUD) (N = 20) was assessed using SEIQoL. Judgement reliability was lower (r = 0·54) although statistically highly significant (P < 0·01), and the variance in overall QoL judgements explained was high (R2 = 0·74). SEIQoL is an acceptable, reliable and valid technique for measuring individual QoL that takes greater account of individual perspectives than traditional measurement approache

Daily distribution of carbohydrate, protein and fat intake in elite youth academy soccer players over a 7-day training period

While traditional approaches to dietary analysis in athletes have focused on total daily energy and macronutrient intake, it is now thought that daily distribution of these parameters can also influence training adaptations. Using seven-day food diaries, we quantified the total daily macronutrient intake and distribution in elite youth soccer players from the English Premier League in U18 (n=13), U15/16 (n=25) and U13/14 squads (n=21). Total energy (43.1±10.3, 32.6±7.9, 28.1±6.8 kcal∙kg-1∙day-1), CHO (6±1.2, 4.7±1.4, 3.2±1.3 g∙kg-1∙day-1) and fat (1.3±0.5, 0.9±0.3, 0.9±0.3 g∙kg-1∙day-1) intake exhibited hierarchical differences (PU15/16>U18. Additionally, CHO intake in U18s was lower (P lunch (~0.5 g∙kg-1) > breakfast (~0.3 g∙kg-1). We conclude elite youth soccer players do not meet current CHO guidelines. Although daily protein targets are achieved, we report a skewed daily distribution in all ages such that dinner>lunch>breakfast. Our data suggest that dietary advice for elite youth players should focus on both total daily macronutrient intake and optimal daily distribution patterns

CCL2 nitration is a negative regulator of chemokine-mediated inflammation.

Chemokines promote leukocyte recruitment during inflammation. The oxidative burst is an important effector mechanism, this leads to the generation of reactive nitrogen species (RNS), including peroxynitrite (ONOO). The current study was performed to determine the potential for nitration to alter the chemical and biological properties of the prototypical CC chemokine, CCL2. Immunofluorescence was performed to assess the presence of RNS in kidney biopsies. Co-localisation was observed between RNS-modified tyrosine residues and the chemokine CCL2 in diseased kidneys. Nitration reduced the potential of CCL2 to stimulate monocyte migration in diffusion gradient chemotaxis assays (p < 0.05). This was consistent with a trend towards reduced affinity of the nitrated chemokine for its cognate receptor CCR2b. The nitrated chemokine was unable to induce transendothelial monocyte migration in vitro and failed to promote leukocyte recruitment when added to murine air pouches (p < 0.05). This could potentially be attributed to reduced glycosaminoglycan binding ability, as surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy showed that nitration reduced heparan sulphate binding by CCL2. Importantly, intravenous administration of nitrated CCL2 also inhibited the normal recruitment of leukocytes to murine air pouches filled with unmodified CCL2. Together these data suggest that nitration of CCL2 during inflammation provides a mechanism to limit and resolve acute inflammation