Pooled analysis of iron-related genes in Parkinson's disease: Association with transferrin

Pathologic features of Parkinson's disease (PD) include death of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra, presence of α-synuclein containing Lewy bodies, and iron accumulation in PD-related brain regions. The observed iron accumulation may be contributing to PD etiology but it also may be a byproduct of cell death or cellular dysfunction. To elucidate the possible role of iron accumulation in PD, we investigated genetic variation in 16 genes related to iron homeostasis in three case-control studies from the United States, Australia, and France. After screening 90 haplotype tagging single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within the genes of interest in the US study population, we investigated the five most promising gene regions in two additional independent case-control studies. For the pooled data set (1289 cases, 1391 controls) we observed a protective association (OR. = 0.83, 95% CI: 0.71-0.96) between PD and a haplotype composed of the A allele at rs1880669 and the T allele at rs1049296 in transferrin (TF; GeneID: 7018). Additionally, we observed a suggestive protective association (OR. = 0.87, 95% CI: 0.74-1.02) between PD and a haplotype composed of the G allele at rs10247962 and the A allele at rs4434553 in transferrin receptor 2 (TFR2; GeneID: 7036). We observed no associations in our pooled sample for haplotypes in SLC40A1, CYB561, or HFE. Taken together with previous findings in model systems, our results suggest that TF or a TF- TFR2 complex may have a role in the etiology of PD, possibly through iron misregulation or mitochondrial dysfunction within dopaminergic neurons

The relationship between eleventh-grade varsity sports participation and academic achievement

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between participation in high school varsity sports and academic achievement and how such relationship may be affected by participating in multiple varsity sports. End-of-course Math and English scaled scores from the California Standards Tests of eleventh-graders along with comparative accumulative grade point averages at the beginning and end of year were gathered and correlated to the number of varsity sports played. The level of sports involvement was categorized by participation in one varsity sport, two varsity sports, or three varsity sports. The differences between males and females were evaluated as well. The hypothesis was that a positive relationship exists between high school varsity sports participation and academic achievement, and such relationship is increased by the number of varsity sports students participate in. The participants in the study were students in five California high schools: Atwater, Buhach Colony, Golden Valley, Livingston, and Merced. The sampling method used was captive and purposive. Pearson Moment correlation was used to determine relationships in the study, and analysis of variance of a single sample was conducted using SPSS. It was found that there was a significant, positive relationship between Math scores and the number of sports played; however, such a relationship was not found between English scores and number of sports played. There was also a significant, positive relationship between accumulative GPA and number of sports played. The benefits of participation were more pronounced for female athletes than for male athletes. Schools and parents can take these results into account when making recommendations to students concerning participation in varsity sports

The relationship between eleventh-grade varsity sports participation and academic achievement

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between participation in high school varsity sports and academic achievement and how such relationship may be affected by participating in multiple varsity sports. End-of-course Math and English scaled scores from the California Standards Tests of eleventh-graders along with comparative accumulative grade point averages at the beginning and end of year were gathered and correlated to the number of varsity sports played. The level of sports involvement was categorized by participation in one varsity sport, two varsity sports, or three varsity sports. The differences between males and females were evaluated as well. The hypothesis was that a positive relationship exists between high school varsity sports participation and academic achievement, and such relationship is increased by the number of varsity sports students participate in. The participants in the study were students in five California high schools: Atwater, Buhach Colony, Golden Valley, Livingston, and Merced. The sampling method used was captive and purposive. Pearson Moment correlation was used to determine relationships in the study, and analysis of variance of a single sample was conducted using SPSS. It was found that there was a significant, positive relationship between Math scores and the number of sports played; however, such a relationship was not found between English scores and number of sports played. There was also a significant, positive relationship between accumulative GPA and number of sports played. The benefits of participation were more pronounced for female athletes than for male athletes. Schools and parents can take these results into account when making recommendations to students concerning participation in varsity sports

Two new species of Heteroconis Enderlein, 1905 from China (Neuroptera, Coniopterygidae)

Two new species, Heteroconis yunnanensis sp. nov. and Heteroconis orbicularis sp. nov., are described from China. Both species differ from their congeners in characters of the male genitalia. Heteroconis terminalis (Banks, 1913) is redescribed based on examined Chinese specimens. A key to the adult males of Heteroconis from China is provided

Pro- or anti-oxidant manganese: a suggested mechanism for reconciliation

The neurodegeneration induced by manganese has been attributed to its ability to undergo redox cycling, and catalysis of reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation, as with other transition metals. However, the characterization of manganese as a pro-oxidant is confounded by increasing evidence that the metal may scavenge superoxide anions and protect cells from oxidative damage. The current study was designed to address conflicting reports pertaining to the oxidative capacity of manganese. We found that the metal has distinctive redox dynamics in which the divalent reduced form, unlike iron, possessed no intrinsic oxidative capacity. The apparent ability of Mn(2+) to promote the formation of ROS within a cortical mitochondrial-synaptosomal fraction was quenched by the depletion of contaminating nanomolar concentrations of trivalent metals. The addition of manganic ions at trace concentrations dose-dependently restored the oxidative capacity attributed to divalent manganese, whereas the presence of the ferric ion retarded the rate of ROS generation. This result was paralleled by the spectrophotometric demonstration that the kinetics of iron oxidation is accelerated by trivalent but not divalent manganese. The markedly different capacities of the lower and higher valence states of manganese to promote free-radical formation in cortical fractions and to modulate the process of iron oxidation may account for earlier contradictory reports of anti- and pro-oxidant properties of manganese