Observable essential fatty acid deficiency markers and autism spectrum disorder

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has been associated with essential fatty acid (EFA) deficiencies, with some researchers theorising that dysregulation of phospholipid metabolism may form part of the biological basis for ASD. This pilot study compared observable signs of fatty acid status of 19 children with an ASD diagnosis to 23 of their typically developing siblings. A pregnancy, birth and breastfeeding history was also obtained from their parents, which included a measure of infant intake of fatty acid rich colostrum immediately post-partum. When considered within their family group, those infants not breastfed (with colostrum) within the first hour of life and who had a history of fatty acid deficiency symptoms were more likely to have an ASD diagnosis. Other variables such as formula use, duration of breastfeeding, gestational age and Apgar scores were not associated with group membership. The results of this study are consistent with previous research showing a relationship between fatty acid metabolism, breastfeeding and ASD such that early infant feeding practices and the influence this has on the fatty acid metabolism of the child may be a risk factor for ASD

Increased rate of D1 repair in coral symbionts during bleaching is insufficient to counter accelerated photo-inactivation

We dissect the primary photo-inactivation and the counteracting metabolic repair rates in fragments of the scleractinian coral, Pocillopora damicornis, subjected to a combined stress of a shift to elevated temperature (from 26°C to 32°C) and increased light (from 200 μmol photons m-2 s-1 to 400 μmol photons m-2 s-1) to induce bleaching. During the bleaching treatment the dinoflagellate symbionts showed a 5.5-fold acceleration in their photosystem II (PSII) repair rate constant, demonstrating that they maintain strong metabolic capacity to clear and replace photo-damaged D1 protein at the elevated temperature and light conditions. Nevertheless, the symbionts concurrently suffered a seven-fold increase in the rate constant for PSII photo-inactivation. This rapid photo-inactivation exceeded the PSII repair capacity, therefore tipping the symbionts, and by implication the symbiosis, into net photo-inhibition. Increased photo-inactivation in hospite, rather than an inhibition of PSII repair, is the principle trigger for net photo-inhibition under bleaching conditions. © 2011, by the American Society of Limnology and Oceanography, Inc

Rapid photoprotection in sea-ice diatoms from the East Antarctic pack ice

Photoinhibition and D1 protein re-synthesis were investigated in bottom-dwelling sea-ice microalgal communities from the East Antarctic pack ice during early spring. Bottom-dwelling sea-ice microalgal communities were dominated by diatoms that exhibited rapid photoprotection when exposed to a range of different light levels (10 μmol photons m-2 s -1, 50 μmol photons m-2 s-1, 100 μmol photons m-2 s-1, and 200 μmol photons m-2 s-1). Photosynthetic capacity of photosystem II (PSII) dropped significantly over 3 h under 200 μmol photons m-2 s-1, but largely recovered when placed in a low-light environment (10 μmol photons m-2 s-1) for an additional 3 h. PSII repair rates increased with increasing irradiance, and the D1-protein pool remained steady even under high light (200 μmol photons m-2 s-1). Sea-ice diatoms showed a low intrinsic susceptibility to photoinactivation of PSII across all the light treatments, and a strong and irradiance-dependent induction of nonphotochemical quenching, which did not depend upon chloroplast protein synthesis, was also seen. These highly plastic organisms, once thought to be adapted to shade, are in fact well equipped to withstand rapid and relatively large changes in light at low temperatures with minimal long-term effect on their photosynthetic machinery. © 2010, by the American Society of Limnology and Oceanography, Inc

Insights Into the Effects of Mucosal Epithelial and Innate Immune Dysfunction in Older People on Host Interactions With Streptococcus pneumoniae

In humans, nasopharyngeal carriage of Streptococcus pneumoniae is common and although primarily asymptomatic, is a pre-requisite for pneumonia and invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD). Together, these kill over 500,000 people over the age of 70 years worldwide every year. Pneumococcal conjugate vaccines have been largely successful in reducing IPD in young children and have had considerable indirect impact in protection of older people in industrialized country settings (herd immunity). However, serotype replacement continues to threaten vulnerable populations, particularly older people in whom direct vaccine efficacy is reduced. The early control of pneumococcal colonization at the mucosal surface is mediated through a complex array of epithelial and innate immune cell interactions. Older people often display a state of chronic inflammation, which is associated with an increased mortality risk and has been termed ‘Inflammageing’. In this review, we discuss the contribution of an altered microbiome, the impact of inflammageing on human epithelial and innate immunity to S. pneumoniae, and how the resulting dysregulation may affect the outcome of pneumococcal infection in older individuals. We describe the impact of the pneumococcal vaccine and highlight potential research approaches which may improve our understanding of respiratory mucosal immunity during pneumococcal colonization in older individuals

Core excitations across the neutron shell gap in ²⁰⁷Tl

The single closed-neutron-shell, one proton-hole nucleus 207Tl was populated in deep-inelastic collisions of a 208Pb beam with a 208Pb target. The yrast and near-yrast level scheme has been established up to high excitation energy, comprising an octupol

Innovative learning at The University of Edinburgh

The activities available to civil engineering students during the University of Edinburgh's innovative learning week in 2012 were examined. The academic staff proposed a wide range of possible activities and student participation was optional. Popular activities were those with a ‘hands-on’ element: making or doing something. The practical activities offered included designing and building trebuchets, relaying railway permanent way on a heritage railway, practical workshops on engineering in international development and learning to juggle. These activities suggested that heuristic learning by trial and error was likely to enhance the visualisation skills that contribute to good engineering design. Further, the linking of achievement to purposeful practice rather than innate talent could inform teaching methods in the future. They also showed that in some cases safety culture messages were still not fully assimilated by students

Antikaon production in nucleon-nucleon reactions near threshold

The antikaon production cross section from nucleon-nucleon reactions near threshold is studied in a meson exchange model. We include both pion and kaon exchange, but neglect the interference between the amplitudes. In case of pion exchange the antikaon production cross section can be expressed in terms of the antikaon production cross section from a pion-nucleon interaction, which we take from the experimental data if available. Otherwise, a $K^*$-resonance exchange model is introduced to relate the different reaction cross sections. In case of kaon exchange the antikaon production cross section is related to the elastic $KN$ and $\bar KN$ cross sections, which are again taken from experimental measurements. We find that the one-meson exchange model gives a satisfactory fit to the available data for the $NN\to NNK\bar K$ cross section at high energies. We compare our predictions for the cross section near threshold with an earlier empirical parameterization and that from phase space models.Comment: 16 pages, LaTeX, 5 postscript figures included, submitted to Z. Phys.