Wanted dead or alive : high diversity of macroinvertebrates associated with living and ’dead’ Posidonia oceanica matte

The Mediterranean endemic seagrass Posidonia oceanica forms beds characterised by a dense leaf canopy and a thick root-rhizome ‘matte’. Death of P. oceanica shoots leads to exposure of the underlying matte, which can persist for many years, and is termed ‘dead’ matte. Traditionally, dead matte has been regarded as a degraded habitat. To test whether this assumption was true, the motile macroinvertebrates of adjacent living (with shoots) and dead (without shoots) matte of P. oceanica were sampled in four different plots located at the same depth (5–6 m) in Mellieha Bay, Malta (central Mediterranean). The total number of species and abundance were significantly higher (ANOVA; P<0.05 and P<0.01, respectively) in the dead matte than in living P. oceanica matte, despite the presence of the foliar canopy in the latter. Multivariate analysis (MDS) clearly showed two main groups of assemblages, corresponding to the two matte types. The amphipods Leptocheirus guttatus and Maera grossimana, and the polychaete Nereis rava contributed most to the dissimilarity between the two different matte types. Several unique properties of the dead matte contributing to the unexpected higher number of species and abundance of motile macroinvertebrates associated with this habitat are discussed. The findings have important implications for the conservation of bare P. oceanica matte, which has been generally viewed as a habitat of low ecological value.peer-reviewe

No association between green tea and prostate cancer risk in Japanese men: the Ohsaki Cohort Study

In a prospective study of 19 561 Japanese men, green-tea intake was not associated with a lower risk of prostate cancer (110 cases), the multivariate hazard ratio for men drinking ≥5 cups compared with <1 cup per day being 0.85 (95% confidence interval 0.50–1.43, trend P=0.81)

Methods for specifying the target difference in a randomised controlled trial : the Difference ELicitation in TriAls (DELTA) systematic review

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

α-Actinin-4 Is Essential for Maintaining the Spreading, Motility and Contractility of Fibroblasts

Background: α-actinins cross-link actin filaments, with this cross-linking activity regulating the formation of focal adhesions, intracellular tension, and cell migration. Most non-muscle cells such as fibroblasts express two isoforms, α-actinin-1 (ACTN1) and α-actinin-4 (ACTN4). The high homology between these two isoforms would suggest redundancy of their function, but recent studies have suggested different regulatory roles. Interestingly, ACTN4 is phosphorylated upon growth factor stimulation, and this loosens its interaction with actin. Methodology/Principal Findings: Using molecular, biochemical and cellular techniques, we probed the cellular functions of ACTN4 in fibroblasts. Knockdown of ACTN4 expression in murine lung fibroblasts significantly impaired cell migration, spreading, adhesion, and proliferation. Surprisingly, knockdown of ACTN4 enhanced cellular compaction and contraction force, and increased cellular and nuclear cross-sectional area. These results, except the increased contractility, are consistent with a putative role of ACTN4 in cytokinesis. For the transcellular tension, knockdown of ACTN4 significantly increased the expression of myosin light chain 2, a element of the contractility machinery. Re-expression of wild type human ACTN4 in ACTN4 knockdown murine lung fibroblasts reverted cell spreading, cellular and nuclear cross-sectional area, and contractility back towards baseline, demonstrating that the defect was due to absence of ACTN4. Significance: These results suggest that ACTN4 is essential for maintaining normal spreading, motility, cellular and nuclear cross-sectional area, and contractility of murine lung fibroblasts by maintaining the balance between transcellular contractility and cell-substratum adhesion. © 2010 Shao et al

Role of tumor size in the pre-operative management of rectal cancer patients

Clinical management of rectal cancer patients relies on pre-operative staging. Studies however continue to report moderate degrees of over/understaging as well as inter-observer variability. The aim of this study was to determine the sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of tumor size for predicting T and N stages in pre-operatively untreated rectal cancers

The practice of child and adolescent psychiatry: a survey of early-career psychiatrists in Japan

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Child and adolescent psychiatry (CAP), a subspecialty of psychiatry in Japan, is facing a serious workforce shortage. To resolve this situation, the Japanese government has organized a task force and has been working to increase psychiatrists' clinical skills to improve care for children and adolescents with mental health problems. Using an online questionnaire system, the authors have conducted a survey to investigate the perceptions, experiences, and interests of early-career psychiatrists in CAP.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The subjects of this study were 182 psychiatrists in Japan whose individual clinical experiences did not exceed 15 years. The authors of this study created an online questionnaire system and e-mailed the URL and login password to all subjects. Respondents anonymously answered the questions. Most questions required an answer indicating a level of agreement scored on a nine-point scale. Responding to the questionnaire was considered to constitute consent, and all respondents' privacy was carefully protected.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The mean age and clinical psychiatric experience of the subjects were found to be 33.1 ± 4.5 years and 5.43 ± 3.5 years, respectively. On a nine-point scale (with nine being the highest), experience and interest in CAP measured 3.05 ± 1.9 and 5.34 ± 2.5, respectively; further, these two factors showed significant correlation (r = 0.437, p < 0.0001). The mean score for the early-career psychiatrists' confidence in their ability to diagnose and appropriately treat was notably low, at 3.13 ± 1.9.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our results demonstrated that early-career psychiatrists self-evaluated their CAP clinical experience as insufficient, and these clinicians' CAP experiences and interests correlated significantly. Therefore, in order to improve child and adolescent medical care, we need to expose young psychiatrists to sufficient CAP cases and explore the factors that could attract them to this field.</p

A major QTL controlling apple skin russeting maps on the linkage group 12 of 'Renetta Grigia di Torriana'

Background: Russeting is a disorder developed by apple fruits that consists of cuticle cracking followed by the replacement of the epidermis by a corky layer that protects the fruit surface from water loss and pathogens. Although influenced by many environmental conditions and orchard management practices, russeting is under genetic control. The difficulty in classifying offspring and consequent variable segregation ratios have led several authors to conclude that more than one genetic determinant could be involved, although some evidence favours a major gene (Ru). Results: In this study we report the mapping of a major genetic russeting determinant on linkage group 12 of apple as inferred from the phenotypic observation in a segregating progeny derived from 'Renetta Grigia di Torriana', the construction of a 20 K Illumina SNP chip based genetic map, and QTL analysis. Recombination analysis in two mapping populations restricted the region of interest to approximately 400 Kb. Of the 58 genes predicted from the Golden Delicious sequence, a putative ABCG family transporter has been identified. Within a small set of russeted cultivars tested with markers of the region, only six showed the same haplotype of 'Renetta Grigia di Torriana'. Conclusions: A major determinant (Ru_RGT) for russeting development putatively involved in cuticle organization is proposed as a candidate for controlling the trait. SNP and SSR markers tightly co-segregating with the Ru_RGT locus may assist the breeder selection. The observed segregations and the analysis of the 'Renetta Grigia di Torriana' haplotypic region in a panel of russeted and non-russeted cultivars may suggest the presence of other determinants for russeting in apple

Search for Kaluza-Klein Graviton Emission in ppˉp\bar{p} Collisions at s=1.8\sqrt{s}=1.8 TeV using the Missing Energy Signature

We report on a search for direct Kaluza-Klein graviton production in a data sample of 84 ${pb}^{-1}$ of \ppb collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 1.8 TeV, recorded by the Collider Detector at Fermilab. We investigate the final state of large missing transverse energy and one or two high energy jets. We compare the data with the predictions from a $3+1+n$-dimensional Kaluza-Klein scenario in which gravity becomes strong at the TeV scale. At 95% confidence level (C.L.) for $n$=2, 4, and 6 we exclude an effective Planck scale below 1.0, 0.77, and 0.71 TeV, respectively.Comment: Submitted to PRL, 7 pages 4 figures/Revision includes 5 figure

Measurement of the average time-integrated mixing probability of b-flavored hadrons produced at the Tevatron

We have measured the number of like-sign (LS) and opposite-sign (OS) lepton pairs arising from double semileptonic decays of $b$ and $\bar{b}$-hadrons, pair-produced at the Fermilab Tevatron collider. The data samples were collected with the Collider Detector at Fermilab (CDF) during the 1992-1995 collider run by triggering on the existence of $\mu \mu$ and $e \mu$ candidates in an event. The observed ratio of LS to OS dileptons leads to a measurement of the average time-integrated mixing probability of all produced $b$-flavored hadrons which decay weakly, $\bar{\chi} = 0.152 \pm 0.007$ (stat.) $\pm 0.011$ (syst.), that is significantly larger than the world average $\bar{\chi} = 0.118 \pm 0.005$.Comment: 47 pages, 10 figures, 15 tables Submitted to Phys. Rev.