Intelligence quotient in paediatric sickle cell disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis

AIM: Sickle cell disease (SCD) is the commonest cause of childhood stroke worldwide. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is routinely used to detect additional silent cerebral infarction (SCI), as IQ is lower in SCI as well as stroke. This review assesses the effect of infarction on IQ, and specifically whether, compared to healthy controls, IQ differences are seen in children with SCI with no apparent MRI abnormality. METHOD: A systematic review was conducted to include articles with an SCD paediatric population, MRI information, and Wechsler IQ. A meta-analysis of 19 articles was performed to compare IQ in three groups: stroke vs SCI; SCI vs no SCI; and no SCI vs healthy controls. RESULTS: Mean differences in IQ between all three groups were significant: stroke patients had lower IQ than patients with SCI by 10 points (six studies); patients with SCI had lower IQ than no patients with SCI by 6 points (17 studies); and no patients with SCI had lower IQ than healthy controls by 7 points (seven studies). INTERPRETATION: Children with SCD and no apparent MRI abnormality have significantly lower IQ than healthy controls. In this chronic condition, other biological, socioeconomic, and environmental factors must play a significant role in cognition

The ecology of seamounts: structure, function, and human impacts.

In this review of seamount ecology, we address a number of key scientific issues concerning the structure and function of benthic communities, human impacts, and seamount management and conservation. We consider whether community composition and diversity differ between seamounts and continental slopes, how important dispersal capabilities are in seamount connectivity, what environmental factors drive species composition and diversity, whether seamounts are centers of enhanced biological productivity, and whether they have unique trophic architecture. We discuss how vulnerable seamount communities are to fishing and mining, and how we can balance exploitation of resources and conservation of habitat. Despite considerable advances in recent years, there remain many questions about seamount ecosystems that need closer integration of molecular, oceanographic, and ecological research

A novel liver specific isoform of the rat LAR transcript is expressed as a truncated isoform encoded from a 5'UTR located within intron 11

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The leukocyte common antigen related receptor (LAR) protein has been shown to modulate the signal transduction of a number of different growth factors, including insulin and insulin-like growth factor 1. Splice variants exhibit differing roles and are expressed according to tissue type and developmental stage.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Using 5'RACE, we identified a 5'UTR within intron 11 of the rat LAR gene. We demonstrated that this gives rise to a novel isoform of the LAR transcript encoded from the identified region within intron 11. By priming across the site from exon 11 to exon 15 we show that the novel 5'UTR is not represented in the full-length transcript and thus, it produces a truncated form of the LAR mRNA. We examined the tissue distribution of this novel isoform and found it to be exclusively expressed in liver. We additionally identified a liver specific 150 kDa band with western blotting which we propose may represent the protein product of the novel transcript. Luciferase assays showed the region immediately upstream of the 5'UTR to possesses considerable promoter activity and that this may be conferred by the presence of a number of putative binding sites for liver enriched transcription factors.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In summary, we describe a novel, liver specific, truncated isoform of the LAR transcript transcribed under the control of an intronic promoter, potentially representing a previously unidentified modulator of hepatic insulin signalling.</p

Reversible DNA micro-patterning using the fluorous effect

We describe a new method for the immobilisation of DNA into defined patterns with sub-micron resolution, using the fluorous effect. The method is fully reversible via a simple solvent wash, allowing the patterning, regeneration and re-patterning of surfaces with no degradation in binding efficiency following multiple removal/attachment cycles of different DNA sequences

Osteology of Klamelisaurus gobiensis (Dinosauria, Eusauropoda) and the evolutionary history of Middle–Late Jurassic Chinese sauropods

Fossil-rich deposits from the Middle and Late Jurassic of China have yielded a diverse array of sauropod dinosaurs, including numerous species referred to Mamenchisaurus and Omeisaurus. Despite an abundance of fossils and a proliferation of taxa, the anatomy of Middle–Late Jurassic Chinese sauropods remains poorly documented. Here, we comprehensively redescribe and illustrate Klamelisaurus gobiensis from the Middle–Late Jurassic Shishugou Formation of northwest China. Phylogenetic analyses conducted under parsimony and time-calibrated Bayesian optimality criteria consistently recover Klamelisaurus as a member of a predominantly Chinese radiation of exceptionally long-necked eusauropods that includes Mamenchisaurus spp., Chuanjiesaurus, Qijianglong and Wamweracaudia. In most analyses, this lineage also includes Euhelopus, reviving a ‘traditional’ Euhelopodidae and calling into question the macronarian affinities of Euhelopus. Klamelisaurus shares several features with Euhelopus that are unique to a subset of East Asian taxa or rare among sauropods, including a convex ventral margin of the prezygodiapophyseal lamina in middle–posterior cervical vertebrae, a ventrally bifurcated postzygodiapophyseal lamina in posterior cervical vertebrae, and development of a rugose projection extending anteriorly from the epipophysis into the spinodiapophyseal fossa in most cervical vertebrae. Anatomical comparisons of the cervical vertebrae of Klamelisaurus to several other sauropodomorphs and insights from myological studies of extant archosaurs strongly suggest that this latter structure, often considered part of an epipophyseal-prezygapophyseal lamina, is an epaxial muscle scar that is distinct from pneumatic structures of the lateral surface of the neural spine. The phylogenetic and comparative anatomical data presented here provide a foundation for future revision of the taxonomy and systematics of sauropods from the Junggar and Sichuan basins