Opsin expression predicts male nuptial color in threespine stickleback.

Theoretical models of sexual selection suggest that male courtship signals can evolve through the build-up of genetic correlations between the male signal and female preference. When preference is mediated via increased sensitivity of the signal characteristics, correlations between male signal and perception/sensitivity are expected. When signal expression is limited to males, we would expect to find signal-sensitivity correlations in males. Here, we document such a correlation within a breeding population of threespine stickleback mediated by differences in opsin expression. Males with redder nuptial coloration express more long-wavelength-sensitive (LWS) opsin, making them more sensitive to orange and red. This correlation is not an artifact of shared tuning to the optical microhabitat. Such correlations are an essential feature of many models of sexual selection, and our results highlight the potential importance of opsin expression variation as a substrate for signal-preference evolution. Finally, these results suggest a potential sensory mechanism that could drive negative frequency-dependent selection via male-male competition and thus maintain variation in male nuptial color

Improving mental health outcomes: achieving equity through quality improvement

Objective. To investigate equity of patient outcomes in a psychological therapy service, following increased access achieved by a quality improvement (QI) initiative. Design. Retrospective service evaluation of health outcomes; data analysed by ANOVA, chi-squared and Statistical Process Control. Setting. A psychological therapy service in Westminster, London, UK. Participants. People living in the Borough of Westminster, London, attending the service (from either healthcare professional or self-referral) between February 2009 and May 2012. Intervention(s). Social marketing interventions were used to increase referrals, including the promotion of the service through local media and through existing social networks. Main Outcome Measure(s). (i) Severity of depression on entry using Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ9). (ii) Changes to severity of depression following treatment (ΔPHQ9). (iii) Changes in attainment of a meaningful improvement in condition assessed by a key performance indicator. Results. Patients from areas of high deprivation entered the service with more severe depression (M = 15.47, SD = 6.75), com-pared with patients from areas of low (M = 13.20, SD = 6.75) and medium (M = 14.44, SD = 6.64) deprivation. Patients in low

The consistency between the severity of dental caries among 12- and 15-year old children (DMFT/S) and caries in key teeth

Efst á síðunni er hægt að nálgast greinina í heild sinni með því að smella á hlekkinnTilgangur: Markmið rannsóknarinnar var að skoða staðsetningu og dreifingu tannátu og kanna hvort hægt sé að benda á lykiltennur eða fleti tanna við mat á tannátu hjá 12 og 15 ára börnum í gögnum MUNNÍS (VSN 03-140) 2005. Efniviður og aðferðir: Gögn um tannátu hjá 12 og 15 ára börnum sem skoðuð voru í MUNNÍS (VSN 03-140) 2005 voru greind til að meta dreifingu á tannátu og til að finna hvort hægt væri að benda á lykiltennur til greiningar á tannátu hjá börnum. Upplýsingar um 1.388 börn voru skoðaðar. Notuð var núll þanin Poisson aðhvarfsgreining, hlutfall rétt flokkað, Cohen´s Kappa og næmi og sértæki til að meta gögnin. Niðurstöður: Sex ára jaxlar höfðu oftast fyllingu eða tannátu sem náði inn í tannbein hjá bæði 12 og 15 ára börnum. Ef litið var til framtanna í efri gómi voru hliðarframtennur með mest af byrjandi tannátu í glerungi hjá báðum aldurshópum. Framtennur neðri góms voru með minnst af fyllingum og tannátu hjá þessum aldurshópum. Hjá bæði 12 og 15 ára börnunum voru 12 ára jaxlar næst á eftir sex ára jöxlum hvað varðar fjölda fyllinga og tannátu sem náði inn í tannbein. Þegar fjórir til átta jaxlar voru skoðaðir sjónrænt og bornir saman við bestu skoðun (samsett sjónræn skoðun og röntgenskoðun) var næmi þess 69-77, hlutfall rétt flokkað 0,737-0,839 og Kappa 0,53-0,63. Skimun á öllum tönnum gaf næmið 78,8, hlutfall rétt flokkað 0,841 og Kappa 0,65 samanborið við bestu skoðun í gögnum MUNNÍS en 38,7% þeirra sem voru greind án tannátu með sjónrænni skimun allra tanna voru í raun með tannátu við bestu skoðun. Ályktun: Gæði skimunar allra tanna með sjónrænni skoðun eru ekki góð og gefur ekki rétta mynd af tannheilsu einstaklingsins þannig að ekki er réttlætanlegt að benda á ákveðnar lykiltennur fyrir slíka skimun.Introduction: The objective of this research was to analyse the location and distribution of dental caries to determine ig it would be possible to find key teeth or tooth surfaces in the assessment of dental caries in 12- and 15-year old children from the MUNNIS data (VSN 03-140) in 2005. Materials and methods: Data on dental caries in 12- and 15-year old children surveyed in MUNNIS (VSN 03-140) in 2005 were analysed (N=1.388 children) to see the distribution of dental caries and to analyse if it would be possible to find key teeth for the diagnosis of dental caries in children. Zero Inflated Poisson Regression, Agreement, Cohen´s Kappa and Sensitivity and Specificity were used to analyse the data. Results: First molars were most often affected by dental caries in both 12- and 15-year old children. Looking at the front teeth in the upper jaw, lateral incisors were those most at risk for dental caries in both age groups. Canines and incisors in the lower jaw were the least affected teeth in these age groups. In both 12-year old and 15-year old children, second molars were next to first molars when scoring the teeth most affected by dental caries. When four to eight molars were examined visually and compared with combined visual and X-ray examination then the sensitivity was 69-77, Agreement 0.737-0.839 and Kappa 0.53-0.63. Screening all teeth gave sensitivity of 78.8, Agreement of 0.841 and Kappa of 0.65 compared with combined visual and X-ray examination in MUNNIS data and 38.7% of those diagnosed without caries did in fact have caries. Conclusion: The quality of screening all teeth by visual examination is not good enough to allow one to point out certain key teeth for such screening and the screening do not give an accurate picture of the individuals dental health

Herding cats: observing live coding in the wild

After a momentous decade of live coding activities, this paper seeks to explore the practice with the aim of situating it in the history of contemporary arts and music. The article introduces several key points of investigation in live coding research and discusses some examples of how live coding practitioners engage with these points in their system design and performances. In the light of the extremely diverse manifestations of live coding activities, the problem of defining the practice is discussed, and the question raised whether live coding will actually be necessary as an independent category

The first NINDS/NIBIB consensus meeting to define neuropathological criteria for the diagnosis of chronic traumatic encephalopathy.

Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a neurodegeneration characterized by the abnormal accumulation of hyperphosphorylated tau protein within the brain. Like many other neurodegenerative conditions, at present, CTE can only be definitively diagnosed by post-mortem examination of brain tissue. As the first part of a series of consensus panels funded by the NINDS/NIBIB to define the neuropathological criteria for CTE, preliminary neuropathological criteria were used by 7 neuropathologists to blindly evaluate 25 cases of various tauopathies, including CTE, Alzheimer's disease, progressive supranuclear palsy, argyrophilic grain disease, corticobasal degeneration, primary age-related tauopathy, and parkinsonism dementia complex of Guam. The results demonstrated that there was good agreement among the neuropathologists who reviewed the cases (Cohen's kappa, 0.67) and even better agreement between reviewers and the diagnosis of CTE (Cohen's kappa, 0.78). Based on these results, the panel defined the pathognomonic lesion of CTE as an accumulation of abnormal hyperphosphorylated tau (p-tau) in neurons and astroglia distributed around small blood vessels at the depths of cortical sulci and in an irregular pattern. The group also defined supportive but non-specific p-tau-immunoreactive features of CTE as: pretangles and NFTs affecting superficial layers (layers II-III) of cerebral cortex; pretangles, NFTs or extracellular tangles in CA2 and pretangles and proximal dendritic swellings in CA4 of the hippocampus; neuronal and astrocytic aggregates in subcortical nuclei; thorn-shaped astrocytes at the glial limitans of the subpial and periventricular regions; and large grain-like and dot-like structures. Supportive non-p-tau pathologies include TDP-43 immunoreactive neuronal cytoplasmic inclusions and dot-like structures in the hippocampus, anteromedial temporal cortex and amygdala. The panel also recommended a minimum blocking and staining scheme for pathological evaluation and made recommendations for future study. This study provides the first step towards the development of validated neuropathological criteria for CTE and will pave the way towards future clinical and mechanistic studies

Clinicopathological evaluation of chronic traumatic encephalopathy in players of American football

IMPORTANCE: Players of American football may be at increased risk of long-term neurological conditions, particularly chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). OBJECTIVE: To determine the neuropathological and clinical features of deceased football players with CTE. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Case series of 202 football players whose brains were donated for research. Neuropathological evaluations and retrospective telephone clinical assessments (including head trauma history) with informants were performed blinded. Online questionnaires ascertained athletic and military history. EXPOSURES: Participation in American football at any level of play. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Neuropathological diagnoses of neurodegenerative diseases, including CTE, based on defined diagnostic criteria; CTE neuropathological severity (stages I to IV or dichotomized into mild [stages I and II] and severe [stages III and IV]); informant-reported athletic history and, for players who died in 2014 or later, clinical presentation, including behavior, mood, and cognitive symptoms and dementia. RESULTS: Among 202 deceased former football players (median age at death, 66 years [interquartile range, 47-76 years]), CTE was neuropathologically diagnosed in 177 players (87%; median age at death, 67 years [interquartile range, 52-77 years]; mean years of football participation, 15.1 [SD, 5.2]), including 0 of 2 pre–high school, 3 of 14 high school (21%), 48 of 53 college (91%), 9 of 14 semiprofessional (64%), 7 of 8 Canadian Football League (88%), and 110 of 111 National Football League (99%) players. Neuropathological severity of CTE was distributed across the highest level of play, with all 3 former high school players having mild pathology and the majority of former college (27 [56%]), semiprofessional (5 [56%]), and professional (101 [86%]) players having severe pathology. Among 27 participants with mild CTE pathology, 26 (96%) had behavioral or mood symptoms or both, 23 (85%) had cognitive symptoms, and 9 (33%) had signs of dementia. Among 84 participants with severe CTE pathology, 75 (89%) had behavioral or mood symptoms or both, 80 (95%) had cognitive symptoms, and 71 (85%) had signs of dementia. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In a convenience sample of deceased football players who donated their brains for research, a high proportion had neuropathological evidence of CTE, suggesting that CTE may be related to prior participation in football.This study received support from NINDS (grants U01 NS086659, R01 NS078337, R56 NS078337, U01 NS093334, and F32 NS096803), the National Institute on Aging (grants K23 AG046377, P30AG13846 and supplement 0572063345-5, R01 AG1649), the US Department of Defense (grant W81XWH-13-2-0064), the US Department of Veterans Affairs (I01 CX001038), the Veterans Affairs Biorepository (CSP 501), the Veterans Affairs Rehabilitation Research and Development Traumatic Brain Injury Center of Excellence (grant B6796-C), the Department of Defense Peer Reviewed Alzheimer’s Research Program (grant 13267017), the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment, the Alzheimer’s Association (grants NIRG-15-362697 and NIRG-305779), the Concussion Legacy Foundation, the Andlinger Family Foundation, the WWE, and the NFL

Pilot trial of paclitaxel-trastuzumab adjuvant therapy for early stage breast cancer: a trial of the ECOG-ACRIN cancer research group (E2198)

BACKGROUND: Blockade of human epidermal growth factor receptor type 2 (HER2) has dramatically improved outcome for patients with HER2-positive breast cancer. Trastuzumab, an anti-HER2 monoclonal antibody, has previously demonstrated improvement in overall survival (OS) in patients with metastatic and early stage HER2-positive breast cancer. However, trastuzumab can cause congestive heart failure (CHF) with an increased frequency for patients who have also received an anthracycline. The current trial was designed to evaluate the impact of the duration of trastuzumab on CHF. METHODS: E2198 included 227 eligible women with histologically confirmed stage II or IIIA HER2-positive breast cancer. The patients were randomised to receive 12 weeks of paclitaxel and trastuzumab followed by four cycles of doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide (abbreviated Arm) or the aforementioned treatment with additional 1 year of trastuzumab (conventional Arm). The primary end point was to evaluate the safety of this variable duration of trastuzumab therapy, particularly cardiac toxicity defined as CHF or left ventricular ejection fraction decrease >10%. Secondary end points included disease-free survival (DFS) and OS. RESULTS: Compared with 12-week treatment with trastuzumab, 1 year of trastuzumab-based therapy did not increase the frequency or severity of cardiac toxicity: three patients on the abbreviated Arm and four on the conventional Arm experienced CHF. The 5-year DFS was 76% and 73% for the abbreviated and conventional Arms, respectively, with a hazard ratio (HR) of 1.3 (95% CI: 0.8-2.1; P=0.3). There was also no statistically significance difference in OS (HR, 1.4; P=0.3). CONCLUSIONS: Compared with 12 weeks of treatment, 1 year of treatment with trastuzumab did not significantly increase the risk of cardiac toxicity. Although not powered for efficacy comparisons, the longer duration of trastuzumab therapy did not demonstrate a signal for marked superiority

Synthetic strategies for preparing BEDT-TTF derivatives functionalised with metal ion binding groups

The syntheses of BEDT-TTF (ET) derivatives with potential metal ion binding pyridyl, bipyridyl and terpyridyl groups are achieved either by stepwise construction of the organosulfur core or via reactions of hydroxymethyl-ET for which a cheap and efficient four step route is reported. The tosylate of hydroxymethyl-ET, reported for the first time, undergoes nucleophilic substitutions with pyridyl, bipyridyl- and terpyridyl-thiolates to give new donors. The X-ray crystal structures of two substituted ET derivatives show considerable deviation of the organosulfur donor system from planarity by bending about the short molecular axis of the ET group