Settlement Of Oyster (Crassostrea-Virginica) Larvae - Effects Of Water-Flow And A Water-Soluble Chemical Cue

Although previous evidence indicates that larvae of benthic marine invertebrates can respond to waterborne cues in still water, the importance of waterborne cues in mediating natural settlement out of flowing water has been questioned. Here, we summarize the results of flume experiments demonstrating enhanced settlement of oyster larvae in small target wells (circles of 7-cm diam) with the release of a waterborne settlement cue compared to identical substrates without the cue. In concurrent still-water experiments, more oyster larvae settled in solutions of waterborne cue than in seawater controls. Velocity and electrochemical measurements of a conservative tracer verified that at low flow velocities (2 and 6 cm s(-1)) with U* value

Intermediate and high peri-operative cardiac enzyme release following isolated coronary artery bypass surgery are independently associated with higher one-year mortality

BACKGROUND: The relationship between cardiac enzyme (CE) release following coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG) and medium term outcome is unclear. We sought to determine the relationship between post-operative CE release and one-year survival following isolated CABG. METHODS: Over three years 3,024 consecutive patients underwent isolated CABG. Patient characteristics were prospectively recorded in a cardiac surgical database. CE release, taken as the highest single measurement recorded in the first 24 hours post-op, was abstracted from an electronic archive. All cause mortality was taken from a national registry of deaths. RESULTS: Data were complete for 2,860 (94.6%) patients. CK-MB isoenzyme (reference range 5–24 U/l) was recorded in 2,568 (89.8%), total CK in 292 (10.2%). CE release three or more times the upper limit of the reference range (ULR) were recorded in 498 (17.4%) patients, 163 (5.7%) patients had CE more than six times ULR. There were 122 deaths (4.3%). Cox proportional hazards analysis showed that CE release 3–6 times ULR (adjusted HR 2.1 [95% CI: 1.6 to 2.6], p = 0.002) and CE release six or more times the ULR (adjusted HR 5.0 [95% CI: 4.5 to 5.4], p < 0.001) were independently associated with increased one-year mortality. CONCLUSION: Cardiac enzyme release following CABG is associated with increased one-year all-cause mortality. The definition of peri-operative myocardial infarction following CABG should include elevation of CK-MB three or more times the upper limit of normal

Proximal femoral fracture in a man resulting from modern clipless pedals: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>The use of clipless pedals amongst recreational cyclists has become increasingly popular in recent years. We describe a hip fracture, that was sustained due to inadequate set up of such pedals. To the best of our knowledge, this has only been described once before, and this was in the non-English language medical literature.</p> <p>Case Report</p> <p>A 38-year-old Caucasian man who was a club cyclist sustained a displaced intracapsular fracture of the hip whilst cycling. As a direct result of the incorrect set-up of his clipless pedals he was unable to release his feet whilst slowing to a halt. This resulted in a loss of balance and subsequent fall with a direct impact onto his left hip. The resulting fracture was managed successfully with early closed reduction and fixation. At six month review he was walking unaided without pain but, as yet, has been unable to return to cycling.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This case highlights the dangers of clipless pedals even in experienced cyclists, and underlines the importance of proper information for their correct setup to minimise the risk of potentially serious injuries, especially in the region of the hip.</p

Gene expression profiling in bladder cancer identifies potential therapeutic targets

Despite advances in management, bladder cancer remains a major cause of cancer related complications. Characterisation of gene expression patterns in bladder cancer allows the identification of pathways involved in its pathogenesis, and may stimulate the development of novel therapies targeting these pathways. Between 2004 and 2005, cystoscopic bladder biopsies were obtained from 19 patients and 11 controls. These were subjected to whole transcript-based microarray analysis. Unsupervised hierarchical clustering was used to identify samples with similar expression profiles. Hypergeometric analysis was used to identify canonical pathways and curated networks having statistically significant enrichment of differentially expressed genes. Osteopontin (OPN) expression was validated by immunohistochemistry. Hierarchical clustering defined signatures, which differentiated between cancer and healthy tissue, muscle-invasive or non-muscle invasive cancer and healthy tissue, grade 1 and grade 3. Pathways associated with cell cycle and proliferation were markedly upregulated in muscle-invasive and grade 3 cancers. Genes associated with the classical complement pathway were downregulated in non-muscle invasive cancer. Osteopontin was markedly overexpressed in invasive cancer compared to healthy tissue. The present study contributes to a growing body of work on gene expression signatures in bladder cancer. The data support an important role for osteopontin in bladder cancer, and identify several pathways worthy of further investigation

Electronic gaming machine characteristics: it's the little things that count

A range of gamblers, from low-frequency social gamblers through to problem gamblers in treatment, participated in focus groups discussing the characteristics of Electronic Gaming Machines (EGMs) that they found attractive. Analyses of the resulting transcripts resulted in two groups of EGM characteristics being identified as important, one group associated with winning and one with betting. Overall, free spin features were identified in all groups as the most attractive characteristic of EGMS. Beyond that it was smaller win-related characteristics, and low-denomination machines with multiple playable lines that were associated with increased duration and intensity of gambling behaviour. The important characteristics were consistent across different levels of gamblers, with the key behavioural difference being a self-reported ‘expertise’, and ‘strategic’ approach to gambling amongst higher-frequency gamblers and problem gamblers in treatment. The key characteristics all occur frequently and result in more wins and extended gambling sessions. The patterns identified resonated with established behavioural principles, and with models describing the development of problem gambling and addictions more generally

Development of the preterm gut microbiome in twins at risk of necrotising enterocolitis and sepsis

The preterm gut microbiome is a complex dynamic community influenced by genetic and environmental factors and is implicated in the pathogenesis of necrotising enterocolitis (NEC) and sepsis. We aimed to explore the longitudinal development of the gut microbiome in preterm twins to determine how shared environmental and genetic factors may influence temporal changes and compared this to the expressed breast milk (EBM) microbiome. Stool samples (n = 173) from 27 infants (12 twin pairs and 1 triplet set) and EBM (n = 18) from 4 mothers were collected longitudinally. All samples underwent PCR-DGGE (denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis) analysis and a selected subset underwent 454 pyrosequencing. Stool and EBM shared a core microbiome dominated by Enterobacteriaceae, Enterococcaceae, and Staphylococcaceae. The gut microbiome showed greater similarity between siblings compared to unrelated individuals. Pyrosequencing revealed a reduction in diversity and increasing dominance of Escherichia sp. preceding NEC that was not observed in the healthy twin. Antibiotic treatment had a substantial effect on the gut microbiome, reducing Escherichia sp. and increasing other Enterobacteriaceae. This study demonstrates related preterm twins share similar gut microbiome development, even within the complex environment of neonatal intensive care. This is likely a result of shared genetic and immunomodulatory factors as well as exposure to the same maternal microbiome during birth, skin contact and exposure to EBM. Environmental factors including antibiotic exposure and feeding are additional significant determinants of community structure, regardless of host genetics

Reader and author gender and genre in Goodreads

This is an accepted manuscript of an article published by SAGE Publishing in Journal of Librarianship & Information Science on 01/05/2017, available online: https://doi.org/10.1177/0961000617709061 The accepted version of the publication may differ from the final published version.There are known gender differences in book preferences in terms of both genre and author gender but their extent and causes are not well understood. It is unclear whether reader preferences for author genders occur within any or all genres and whether readers evaluate books differently based on author genders within specific genres. This article exploits a major source of informal book reviews, the Goodreads.com website, to assess the influence of reader and author genders on book evaluations within genres. It uses a quantitative analysis of 201,560 books and their reviews, focusing on the top 50 user-specified genres. The results show strong gender differences in the ratings given by reviewers to books within genres, such as female reviewers rating contemporary romance more highly, with males preferring short stories. For most common book genres, reviewers give higher ratings to books authored by their own gender, confirming that gender bias is not confined to the literary elite. The main exception is the comic book, for which male reviewers prefer female authors, despite their scarcity. A word frequency analysis suggested that authors wrote, and reviewers valued, gendered aspects of books within a genre. For example, relationships and romance were disproportionately mentioned by women in mystery and fantasy novels. These results show that, perhaps for the first time, it is possible to get large scale evidence about the reception of books by typical readers, if they post reviews online

Enriched Monolayer Precursor Cell Cultures from Micro-Dissected Adult Mouse Dentate Gyrus Yield Functional Granule Cell-Like Neurons

BACKGROUND: Stem cell cultures are key tools of basic and applied research in Regenerative Medicine. In the adult mammalian brain, lifelong neurogenesis originating from local precursor cells occurs in the neurogenic regions of the hippocampal dentate gyrus. Despite widespread interest in adult hippocampal neurogenesis and the use of mouse models to study it, no protocol existed for adult murine long-term precursor cell cultures with hippocampus-specific differentiation potential. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We describe a new strategy to obtain serum-free monolayer cultures of neural precursor cells from microdissected dentate gyrus of adult mice. Neurons generated from these adherent hippocampal precursor cell cultures expressed the characteristic markers like transcription factor Prox1 and showed the TTX-sensitive sodium currents of mature granule cells in vivo. Similar to granule cells in vivo, treatment with kainic acid or brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) elicited the expression of GABAergic markers, further supporting the correspondence between the in vitro and in vivo phenotype. When plated as single cells (in individual wells) or at lowest density for two to three consecutive generations, a subset of the cells showed self-renewal and gave rise to cells with properties of neurons, astrocytes and oligodendrocytes. The precursor cell fate was sensitive to culture conditions with their phenotype highly influenced by factors within the media (sonic hedgehog, BMP, LIF) and externally applied growth factors (EGF, FGF2, BDNF, and NT3). CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: We report the conditions required to generate adult murine dentate gyrus precursor cell cultures and to analyze functional properties of precursor cells and their differentiated granule cell-like progeny in vitro

Rs1888747 polymorphism in the FRMD3 gene, gene and protein expression: Role in diabetic kidney disease

© 2016 Buffon et al. Background: We carried out a case-control study in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) to evaluate the association between seven single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) previously described to be linked to diabetic kidney disease (DKD) in type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). Additionally, we evaluated gene and protein expression related to the polymorphism associated with DKD. Methods: The association study included 1098 T2DM patients (718 with DKD and 380 without DKD). Out of the 13 polymorphisms associated with DKD in a previous study with T1DM, seven were chosen for evaluation in this sample: rs1888747, rs9521445, rs39075, rs451041, rs1041466, rs1411766 and rs6492208. The expression study included 91 patients who underwent nephrectomy. Gene expression was assessed by RT-qPCR and protein expression in kidney samples was quantified by western blot and it localization by immunohistochemistry. Results: The C/C genotype of rs1888747 SNP was associated with protection for DKD (OR = 0.6, 95 % CI 0.3-0.9; P = 0.022). None of the other SNPs were associated with DKD. rs1888747 is located near FRMD3 gene. Therefore, FRMD3 gene and protein expression were evaluated in human kidney tissue according to rs1888747 genotypes. Gene and protein expression were similar in subjects homozygous for the C allele and in those carrying the G allele. Conclusions: Replication of the association between rs1888747 SNP and DKD in a different population suggests that this link is not the result of chance. rs1888747 SNP is located at the FRMD3 gene, which is expressed in human kidney. Therefore, this gene is a candidate gene for DKD. However, in this study, no rs1888747 genotype or specific allele effect on gene and/or protein expression of the FRMD3 gene was demonstrated