The Morphometrics of \u3ci\u3eXiphinema americanum sensu lato\u3c/i\u3e in California

Ten populations of Xiphinema americanum sensu lato (S. l.)from California and two from the eastern United States were studied in a morphometric comparison. Morphometrics were generated by descriptive statistics and a stepwise discriminant analysis (SDA) from nine California field populations, and voucher specimens from a previous California vector study (Hoy, Mircetich & Lownsbery, 1984); identifed as X. californicum. AIso included were greenhouse populations of X. americanum Cobb, 1913 sensu stricto (s. s.) from New York (N.Y.) and X. rivesi Dalmasso, 1969 from Pennsylvania (Pa). SDA canonical plots of individual specimens showed the X. rivesi population to be well separated from the other populations with no overlap All other groups overlapped to varying degrees. NY X. americanum s. s., Hoy’s X. californicum, and four field populations showed close alignment, and their high degree of similarity to the neotype and the populations in a redescription of X. anzericanum s. s. (Lamberti & Golden, 1984) show that X. americanum s. s. occurs in California. Two other California populations are judged through descriptive statistics and comparison with paratypes to match the description of X. californicum. SDA fails to separate them from X . anzericanum s. s. as it did X. rivesi and in fact these two populations frequently overlap the type species. These SDA data show that X. californicum is not separable from X. americanum s. s. and is therefore considered a junior synonym of X. anzericanum s. s. French title: Morphométrie de Xiphinema americanum sensu lato en Californie French abstract: Une étude de morphométrie comparative a porté sur douze populations de Xiphinema americanum sensu lato (S. l.), dix provenant de Californie et deux de l’est des USA. Les données morphométriques ont été recueillies à partir d’une procédure statistique descriptive et d’une analyse discriminante pas-à-pas (ADP) portant sur neuf populations naturelles de Californie et des spécimens tests provenant d’une étude précédente de vection (Hoy, Mircetich & Lownsbery, 1984), l’ensemble étant identifié comme X. californicum Lamberti & Bleve-Zacheo, 1979. Sont comprises également dans cetteé tude des populations maintenues en serre de X. americanum Cobb, 1913 sensu stricto (s. s.) provenant de New York (N.Y.) et de X. rivesi Dalmasso, 1969 provenant de Pennsylvanie (Pa). Les diagrammes canoniques issus de l’ADP relatifs aux données individuelles montrent que la population de X. rivesi est bien séparée des autres populations, aucun recouvrement n’apparaissant. Tous les autres groupes montrent des recouvrements d‘importance variable. X . americanum s. s. pop. NY, X . californicum pop. Hoy et quatre populations naturelles sont en alignement étroit; leur degré élevé de similarité avec le néotype et les populations utilisées dans la redescription de X. americanum s. s. (Lamberti & Golden, 1984) démontrent que X. americanum s. s. est présent en Californie. Deux autres populations provenant de californie correspondent, d’après l’étude des paratypes et les résultats de la statistique descriptive, à X. californicum. Toutefois, I’ADP est impuissanteà les séparerd e X. americanum, à l’inverse de ceq ui est observé avec X. rivesi; en réalité les données relatives à ces deux populations recouvrent fréquemment celles de l’espèce type. Les données provenant de l’ADP montrent que X. californicum ne peut être séparé de X. americanum s. s. et par conséquent la première espèce est considérée comme un synonyme mineur de la seconde

Neprilysin Is Required for Angiotensin-(1-7)'s Ability to Enhance Insulin Secretion via Its Proteolytic Activity to Generate Angiotensin-(1-2)

Recent work has renewed interest in therapies targeting the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) to improve β-cell function in type 2 diabetes. Studies show that generation of angiotensin-(1–7) by ACE2 and its binding to the Mas receptor (MasR) improves glucose homeostasis, partly by enhancing glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS). Thus, islet ACE2 upregulation is viewed as a desirable therapeutic goal. Here, we show that, although endogenous islet ACE2 expression is sparse, its inhibition abrogates angiotensin-(1–7)–mediated GSIS. However, a more widely expressed islet peptidase, neprilysin, degrades angiotensin-(1–7) into several peptides. In neprilysin-deficient mouse islets, angiotensin-(1–7) and neprilysin-derived degradation products angiotensin-(1–4), angiotensin-(5–7), and angiotensin-(3–4) failed to enhance GSIS. Conversely, angiotensin-(1–2) enhanced GSIS in both neprilysin-deficient and wild-type islets. Rather than mediating this effect via activation of the G-protein–coupled receptor (GPCR) MasR, angiotensin-(1–2) was found to signal via another GPCR, namely GPCR family C group 6 member A (GPRC6A). In conclusion, in islets, intact angiotensin-(1–7) is not the primary mediator of beneficial effects ascribed to the ACE2/angiotensin-(1–7)/MasR axis. Our findings warrant caution for the concurrent use of angiotensin-(1–7) compounds and neprilysin inhibitors as therapies for diabetes

The provision of non-needle/syringe drug injecting paraphernalia in the primary prevention of HCV among IDU: a systematic review

BACKGROUND: Sharing drug injecting paraphernalia other than needles and syringes (N/S) has been implicated in the transmission of Hepatitis C virus (HCV) among injecting drug users (IDU). We aimed to determine whether the provision of sterile non-N/S injecting paraphernalia reduces injecting risk behaviours or HCV transmission among IDU. METHODS: A systematic search of seven databases and the grey literature for articles published January 1989-February 2010 was undertaken. Thirteen studies (twelve observational and one non-randomized uncontrolled pilot intervention) were identified and appraised for study design and quality by two investigators. RESULTS: No studies examined the association between the provision of non-N/S injecting paraphernalia and incident HCV infection. One cross-sectional study found that individuals who frequently, compared to those who infrequently, used sterile cookers and water, were less likely to report prevalent HCV infection. Another found no association between the uptake of sterile non-N/S injecting paraphernalia and self-reported sharing of this paraphernalia. The remaining observational studies used attendance at needle and syringe exchange programmes (NSP) or safer injection facilities (SIF) that provided non-N/S injecting paraphernalia as a proxy measure. Eight studies presented adjusted odds ratios, ranging from 0.3 to 0.9, suggesting a reduced likelihood of self-reported sharing of non-N/S injecting paraphernalia associated with use of NSP or SIF. There was substantial uncertainty associated with these estimates however. Three unadjusted studies reported a reduction in the prevalence of sharing of non-N/S injecting paraphernalia over time among NSP users. Only one study reported an adjusted temporal trend in the prevalence of sharing non-N/S injecting paraphernalia, finding higher rates among non-NSP users than NSP users at each time point, and a greater reduction in sharing among non-NSP than NSP users over time. Study limitations included the use of convenience samples, self-reported exposure and outcome measures, flawed classification of the exposed and unexposed groups, and inadequate adjustment for potential confounding variables. CONCLUSIONS: The evidence to demonstrate that the provision of sterile non-N/S injecting paraphernalia reduces HCV transmission or modifies injecting risk behaviours is currently limited by an insufficient volume and quality of studies. Further research is required to inform practice and policy in this area

School Smoking Policy Characteristics and Individual Perceptions of the School Tobacco Context: Are They Linked to Students’ Smoking Status?

The purpose of this study was to explore individual- and school-level policy characteristics on student smoking behavior using an ecological perspective. Participants were 24,213 (51% female) Grade 10–11 students from 81 schools in five Canadian provinces. Data were collected using student self-report surveys, written policies collected from schools, interviews with school administrators, and school property observations to assess multiple dimensions of the school tobacco policy. The multi-level modeling results revealed that the school a student attended was associated with his/her smoking behavior. Individual-level variables that were associated with student smoking included lower school connectedness, a greater number of family and friends who smoked, higher perceptions of student smoking prevalence, lower perceptions of student smoking frequency, and stronger perceptions of the school tobacco context. School-level variables associated with student smoking included weaker policy intention indicating prohibition and assistance to overcome tobacco addiction, weaker policy implementation involving strategies for enforcement, and a higher number of students smoking on school property. These findings suggest that the school environment is important to tobacco control strategies, and that various policy dimensions have unique relationships to student smoking. School tobacco policies should be part of a comprehensive approach to adolescent tobacco use

A Novel Neurotrophic Drug for Cognitive Enhancement and Alzheimer's Disease

Currently, the major drug discovery paradigm for neurodegenerative diseases is based upon high affinity ligands for single disease-specific targets. For Alzheimer's disease (AD), the focus is the amyloid beta peptide (Aß) that mediates familial Alzheimer's disease pathology. However, given that age is the greatest risk factor for AD, we explored an alternative drug discovery scheme that is based upon efficacy in multiple cell culture models of age-associated pathologies rather than exclusively amyloid metabolism. Using this approach, we identified an exceptionally potent, orally active, neurotrophic molecule that facilitates memory in normal rodents, and prevents the loss of synaptic proteins and cognitive decline in a transgenic AD mouse model

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke and Department of Defense Sport-Related Concussion Common Data Elements Version 1.0 Recommendations

Aim: Through a partnership with the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), National Institutes of Health (NIH), and Department of Defense (DoD), the development of Sport-Related Concussion (SRC) Common Data Elements (CDEs) was initiated. The aim of this collaboration was to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of clinical research studies and clinical treatment outcomes, increase data quality, facilitate data sharing across studies, reduce study start-up time, more effectively aggregate information into metadata results, and educate new clinical investigators. Materials/Methods: The SRC CDE Working Group consisted of 34 worldwide experts in concussion from varied fields of related expertise, divided into three Subgroups: Acute (3 months post-concussion). To develop CDEs, the Subgroups reviewed various domains, and then selected from, refined, and added to existing CDEs, case report forms and field-tested data elements from national registries and funded research studies. Recommendations were posted to the NINDS CDE Website for Public Review from February 2017 to April 2017. Results: Following an internal Working Group review of recommendations, along with consideration of comments received from the Public Review period, the first iteration (Version 1.0) of the NINDS SRC CDEs was completed in June 2017. The recommendations include Core and Supplemental ? Highly Recommended CDEs for cognitive data elements and symptom checklists, as well as other outcomes and endpoints (e.g., vestibular, oculomotor, balance, anxiety, depression) and sample case report forms (e.g., injury reporting, demographics, concussion history) for domains typically included in clinical research studies. Interpretation: The NINDS SRC CDEs and supporting documents are publicly available on the NINDS CDE website https://www.commondataelements.ninds.nih.gov/. Widespread use of CDEs by researchers and clinicians will facilitate consistent SRC clinical research and trial design, data sharing, and metadata retrospective analysis

Experimental traumatic brain injury

Traumatic brain injury, a leading cause of death and disability, is a result of an outside force causing mechanical disruption of brain tissue and delayed pathogenic events which collectively exacerbate the injury. These pathogenic injury processes are poorly understood and accordingly no effective neuroprotective treatment is available so far. Experimental models are essential for further clarification of the highly complex pathology of traumatic brain injury towards the development of novel treatments. Among the rodent models of traumatic brain injury the most commonly used are the weight-drop, the fluid percussion, and the cortical contusion injury models. As the entire spectrum of events that might occur in traumatic brain injury cannot be covered by one single rodent model, the design and choice of a specific model represents a major challenge for neuroscientists. This review summarizes and evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of the currently available rodent models for traumatic brain injury