CARIBBEAN DEMAND OF U.S. AND REST-OF-THE-WORLD STARCHY FOOD (WHEAT, RICE, CORN, AND FRESH POTATOES): A RESTRICTED SOURCE DIFFERENTIATED ALMOST IDEAL DEMAND SYSTEM

This study provides elasticity estimates of the Caribbean demand for U. S. and Rest-of-the-World starchy foods (unmilled wheat and flour, rice, corn and fresh potatoes) using the Restricted Source Differentiated Almost Ideal Demand System (RSDAIDS) model. Caribbean per capita import demand curves for U.S. and Rest-of-the-World (ROW) are own-price unitary elastic for U. S. wheat, and own-price inelastic for U.S. rice and ROW wheat and rice. The implication is that reductions by any means in U. S. or ROW export prices of wheat and rice will increase U.S. or ROW exported quantities in the Caribbean, while at the same time securing food security through import quantity in the Caribbean. Wheat is not produced in the Caribbean. U. S. wheat price policy oriented toward a reduction in the export price of wheat to the Caribbean may increase the U. S. wheat market share in the Caribbean. For wheat and rice, no competition across source exists. Instead, there exists a complementarity relationship across source for each of the two products. In other words, the Caribbean distinguishes between the wheat or rice coming from the U. S. and the wheat or rice coming from the Rest-of-the-World.Caribbean demand, elasticity estimates, food security, price policies, Restricted Source Differentiated Almost Ideal Demand System (RSDAIDS), starchy food, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

Growth inhibition of cytosolic Salmonella by caspase-1 and caspase-11 precedes host cell death

Sensing bacterial products in the cytosol of mammalian cells by NOD-like receptors leads to the activation of caspase-1 inflammasomes, and the production of the pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL)-18 and IL-1β. In addition, mouse caspase-11 (represented in humans by its orthologs, caspase-4 and caspase-5) detects cytosolic bacterial LPS directly. Activation of caspase-1 and caspase-11 initiates pyroptotic host cell death that releases potentially harmful bacteria from the nutrient-rich host cell cytosol into the extracellular environment. Here we use single cell analysis and time-lapse microscopy to identify a subpopulation of host cells, in which growth of cytosolic Salmonella Typhimurium is inhibited independently or prior to the onset of cell death. The enzymatic activities of caspase-1 and caspase-11 are required for growth inhibition in different cell types. Our results reveal that these proteases have important functions beyond the direct induction of pyroptosis and proinflammatory cytokine secretion in the control of growth and elimination of cytosolic bacteria

Six Developmental Trajectories Characterize Children With Autism

The goal of this study was to describe the typical longitudinal developmental trajectories of social and communication functioning in children with autism and to determine the correlates of these trajectories

The Epstein-Barr Virus Episome Maneuvers between Nuclear Chromatin Compartments during Reactivation.

The human genome is structurally organized in three-dimensional space to facilitate functional partitioning of transcription. We learned that the latent episome of the human Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) preferentially associates with gene-poor chromosomes and avoids gene-rich chromosomes. Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus behaves similarly, but human papillomavirus does not. Contacts on the EBV side localize to OriP, the latent origin of replication. This genetic element and the EBNA1 protein that binds there are sufficient to reconstitute chromosome association preferences of the entire episome. Contacts on the human side localize to gene-poor and AT-rich regions of chromatin distant from transcription start sites. Upon reactivation from latency, however, the episome moves away from repressive heterochromatin and toward active euchromatin. Our work adds three-dimensional relocalization to the molecular events that occur during reactivation. Involvement of myriad interchromosomal associations also suggests a role for this type of long-range association in gene regulation.IMPORTANCE The human genome is structurally organized in three-dimensional space, and this structure functionally affects transcriptional activity. We set out to investigate whether a double-stranded DNA virus, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), uses mechanisms similar to those of the human genome to regulate transcription. We found that the EBV genome associates with repressive compartments of the nucleus during latency and with active compartments during reactivation. This study advances our knowledge of the EBV life cycle, adding three-dimensional relocalization as a novel component to the molecular events that occur during reactivation. Furthermore, the data add to our understanding of nuclear compartments, showing that disperse interchromosomal interactions may be important for regulating transcription

Spatial clusters of autism births and diagnoses point to contextual drivers of increased prevalence

Autism prevalence has risen dramatically over the past two decades in California. Although often suggested to have been crucial to the rise of autism, environmental and social contextual drivers of diagnosis have not been extensively examined. Identifying the spatial patterning of autism cases at birth and at diagnosis can help clarify which contextual drivers are affecting autism's rising prevalence. Children with autism not co-morbid with mental retardation served by the California Department of Developmental Services during the period 1992–2005 were matched to California's Birth Master Files. We search for spatial clusters of autism at time of birth and at time of diagnosis using a spatial scan approach that controls for key individual-level risk factors. We then test whether indicators of neighborhood-level diagnostic resources are associated with the diagnostic clusters and assess the extent of clustering by autism symptom severity through a multivariate scan. Finally, we test whether children who move into neighborhoods with higher levels of resources are more likely to receive an autism diagnosis relative to those who do not move with regard to resources. Significant birth and diagnostic clusters of autism are observed independent of key individual-level risk factors. While the clusters overlap, there is a strong positive association between the diagnostic clusters and neighborhood-level diagnostic resources. In addition, children with autism who are higher functioning are more likely to be diagnosed within a cluster than children with autism who are lower functioning. Most importantly, children who move into a neighborhood with more diagnostic resources than their previous residence are more likely to subsequently receive an autism diagnosis than children whose neighborhood resources do not change. We identify birth and diagnostic clusters of autism in California that are independent of individual-level autism risk factors. Our findings implicate a causal relationship between neighborhood-level diagnostic resources and spatial patterns of autism incidence but do not rule out the possibility that environmental toxicants have also contributed to autism risk

Holocene geochemical footprint from Semiarid alpine wetlands in southern Spain

Here we provide the geochemical dataset that our research group has collected after 10 years of investigation in the Sierra Nevada National Park in southern Spain. These data come from Holocene sedimentary records from four alpine sites (ranging from ∼2500 to ∼3000 masl): two peatlands and two shallow lakes. Different kinds of organic and inorganic analyses have been conducted. The organic matter in the bulk sediment was characterised using elemental measurements and isotope-ratio mass spectrometry (EA-IRMS). Leaf waxes in the sediment were investigated by means of chromatography with flame-ionization detection and mass spectrometry (GC-FID, GC-MS). Major, minor and trace elements of the sediments were analysed with atomic absorption (AAS), inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), as well as X-ray scanning fluorescence. These data can be reused by environmental researchers and soil and land managers of the Sierra Nevada National Park and similar regions to identify the effect of natural climate change, overprinted by human impact, as well as to project new management policies in similar protected areas.Universidad de Granada. Departamento de Estratigrafía y PaleontologíaJunta de Andalucía: Grupos de investigación RNM190 y RNM309Junta de Andalucía: Proyecto P11-RNM-7332España, Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad: Proyecto CGL2013-47038-RRamón y Cajal Fellowship: RYC-2015-18966Small Research Grant by the Carnegie Trust for the Universities of ScotlandMarie Curie Intra-European Fellowship of the 7th Framework Programme for Research, Technological Development and Demonstration of the European Commission: NAOSIPUK. Grant Number: PIEF-GA-2012-62302

The Population Level Impacts of Differential Fertility Behavior of Parents of Children with Autism

Drawing on population level data of exceptional quality (including detailed diagnostic information on the autism status of sibling pairs of over 3 million different mothers), this study confirms that stoppage is the average fertility response to a child born with autism, thereby reducing observed concordance in sibling pairs and leading to potentially biased estimation of genetic contributions to autism etiology. Using a counterfactual framework and applying matching techniques we show, however, that this average effect is composed of very different responses to suspicion of autism depending on birth cohort, the character of the disorder (severe versus less severe), the gender of the child, poverty status, and parental education. This study also sheds light on when parents suspect autism. We find that parents’ fertility behavior changes relative to matched controls very early after the birth of a child who will later be diagnosed with autism

Renin-angiotensin system activation correlates with microvascular dysfunction in a prospective cohort study of clinical sepsis

Microvascular dysregulation characterized by hyporesponsive vessels and heterogeneous bloodflow is implicated in the pathogenesis of organ failure in sepsis. The renin-angiotensin system (RAS) affects the microvasculature, yet the relationships between RAS and organ injury in clinical sepsis remain unclear. We tested our hypothesis that systemic RAS mediators are associated with dysregulation of the microvasculature and with organ failure in clinical severe sepsis