Amelioration of bleomycin-induced lung fibrosis in hamsters by dietary supplementation with taurine and niacin: biochemical mechanisms.

Interstitial pulmonary fibrosis induced by intratracheal instillation of bleomycin (BL) involves an excess production of reactive oxygen species, unavailability of adequate levels of NAD and ATP to repair the injured pulmonary epithelium, and an overexuberant lung collagen reactivity followed by deposition of highly cross-linked mature collagen fibrils resistant to enzymatic degradation. In the present study, we have demonstrated that dietary supplementation with taurine and niacin offered almost complete protection against the lung fibrosis in a multidose BL hamster model. The mechanisms for the protective effect of taurine and niacin are multifaceted. These include the ability of taurine to scavenge HOCl and stabilize the biomembrane; niacin's ability to replenish the BL-induced depletion of NAD and ATP; and the combined effect of taurine and niacin to suppress all aspects of BL-induced increases in the lung collagen reactivity, a hallmark of interstitial pulmonary fibrosis. It was concluded from the data presented at this Conference that the combined treatment with taurine and niacin, which offers a multipronged approach, will have great therapeutic potential in the intervention of the development of chemically induced interstitial lung fibrosis in animals and humans

Behavioral responses to injury and death in wild Barbary macaques (Macaca sylvanus)

The wounding or death of a conspecific has been shown to elicit varied behavioral responses throughout thanatology. Recently, a number of reports have presented contentious evidence of epimeletic behavior towards the dying and dead among non-human animals, a behavioral trait previously considered uniquely human. Here, we report on the behavioral responses of Barbary macaques, a social, non-human primate, to the deaths of four group members (one high-ranking adult female, one high-ranking adult male, one juvenile male, and one female infant), all caused by road traffic accidents. Responses appeared to vary based on the nature of the death (protracted or instant) and the age class of the deceased. Responses included several behaviors with potential adaptive explanations or consequences. These included exploration, caretaking (guarding, carrying, and grooming), and proximity to wounded individuals or corpses, and immediate as well as longer-lasting distress behaviors from other group members following death, all of which have been reported in other non-human primate species. These observations add to a growing body of comparative evolutionary analysis of primate thanatology and help to highlight the multifaceted impacts of human-induced fatalities on an endangered and socially complex primate. © 2016, Japan Monkey Centre and Springer Japan

Surveillance of Gram-negative bacteria: impact of variation in current European laboratory reporting practice on apparent multidrug resistance prevalence in paediatric bloodstream isolates.

This study evaluates whether estimated multidrug resistance (MDR) levels are dependent on the design of the surveillance system when using routine microbiological data. We used antimicrobial resistance data from the Antibiotic Resistance and Prescribing in European Children (ARPEC) project. The MDR status of bloodstream isolates of Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa was defined using European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC)-endorsed standardised algorithms (non-susceptible to at least one agent in three or more antibiotic classes). Assessment of MDR status was based on specified combinations of antibiotic classes reportable as part of routine surveillance activities. The agreement between MDR status and resistance to specific pathogen-antibiotic class combinations (PACCs) was assessed. Based on all available antibiotic susceptibility testing, the proportion of MDR isolates was 31% for E. coli, 30% for K. pneumoniae and 28% for P. aeruginosa isolates. These proportions fell to 9, 14 and 25%, respectively, when based only on classes collected by current ECDC surveillance methods. Resistance percentages for specific PACCs were lower compared with MDR percentages, except for P. aeruginosa. Accordingly, MDR detection based on these had low sensitivity for E. coli (2-41%) and K. pneumoniae (21-85%). Estimates of MDR percentages for Gram-negative bacteria are strongly influenced by the antibiotic classes reported. When a complete set of results requested by the algorithm is not available, inclusion of classes frequently tested as part of routine clinical care greatly improves the detection of MDR. Resistance to individual PACCs should not be considered reflective of MDR percentages in Enterobacteriaceae

Differential family and peer environmental factors are related to severity and comorbidity in childresn with ADHD

Contains fulltext : 70260.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access)Behavioral genetic studies imply that salient environmental influences operate within families, making siblings in a family different rather than similar. This study is the first one to examine differential sibling experiences (as measured with the Sibling Inventory of Differential Experience) and its effect on behavioral outcomes within ADHD families. Subjects were 45 Dutch ADHD probands and their unaffected siblings (n = 45) aged 10-18 years. ADHD probands and their unaffected siblings reported differences in sibling interaction, parental treatment, and peer characteristics. These nonshared environmental influences were related to both the severity of ADHD symptoms as well as to comorbid problem behaviors. These findings suggest that environmental influences that operate within ADHD families appear relevant to the severity of problem behaviors of ADHD children and their siblings

Do inattention and hyperactivity symptoms equal scholastic impairment? evidence from three European cohorts

Background Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) affects many children, adolescents, and adults and is associated with a number of impairments. Poor academic performance is related to ADHD in clinical samples. However, it is unclear to what extent core ADHD symptoms and scholastic impairment are related in non-referred school-aged children. Methods Data come from three population-based cohorts from Sweden, Denmark, and Finland, which are part of the Nordic Network on ADHD. The combined sample size was 13,087 children who were studied at ages 7–8 or 10–12 years. Teachers rated children on inattention and hyperactivity symptoms and reported children's scholastic performance on basic skills. Results There was a significant association in all cohorts between core ADHD symptoms and scholastic impairment in reading, writing, and mathematics. Particularly, inattention was related to a two to tenfold increase in scholastic impairment. Prevalence of hyperactivity symptoms was similar across the three cohorts, but inattention was lowest among children from the Finnish cohort, after stratification on living conditions. Conclusion These results extend previous reports of scholastic impairment among children with clinically diagnosed ADHD to non-referred population samples from three European countries. Surveillance policies should be implemented in school systems to catch children in need of behavioral or scholastic support early

Study of production and cold nuclear matter effects in pPb collisions at=5 TeV

Production of mesons in proton-lead collisions at a nucleon-nucleon centre-of-mass energy = 5 TeV is studied with the LHCb detector. The analysis is based on a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.6 nb(-1). The mesons of transverse momenta up to 15 GeV/c are reconstructed in the dimuon decay mode. The rapidity coverage in the centre-of-mass system is 1.5 < y < 4.0 (forward region) and -5.0 < y < -2.5 (backward region). The forward-backward production ratio and the nuclear modification factor for (1S) mesons are determined. The data are compatible with the predictions for a suppression of (1S) production with respect to proton-proton collisions in the forward region, and an enhancement in the backward region. The suppression is found to be smaller than in the case of prompt J/psi mesons

First Measurement of the Charge Asymmetry in Beauty-Quark Pair Production

The difference in the angular distributions between beauty quarks and antiquarks, referred to as the charge asymmetry, is measured for the first time in b (b) over bar pair production at a hadron collider. The data used correspond to an integrated luminosity of 1.0 fb(-1) collected at 7 TeV center-of-mass energy in proton-proton collisions with the LHCb detector. The measurement is performed in three regions of the invariant mass of the b (b) over bar system. The results obtained are A(C)(b (b) over bar) (40 10(5) GeV/c(2)) = 1.6 +/- 1.7 +/- 0.6%,where A(C)(b (b) over bar) is defined as the asymmetry in the difference in rapidity between jets formed from the beauty quark and antiquark, where in each case the first uncertainty is statistical and the second systematic. The beauty jets are required to satisfy 2 20 GeV, and have an opening angle in the transverse plane Delta phi > 2.6 rad. These measurements are consistent with the predictions of the standard model