Peripheral Amino Acid Levels in Schizophrenia and Antipsychotic Treatment

Abnormal levels of amino acids have been reported in patients with schizophrenia and have also been investigated as a biomarker to monitor antipsychotic treatment, however results have been inconsistent. The purpose of the present review is to summarize the evidence in the literature of whether amino acid levels can be a biomarker and predict the treatment outcome in schizophrenia. The current review does not support amino acid concentration as a useful biomarker for monitoring antipsychotic response in patients with schizophrenia, although there is evidence that high levels of serum homocysteine and glutamate might be considered as a trait marker for schizophrenia. This review has also highlighted a considerable dearth of studies, specifically of studies evaluating antipsychotic side-effects

The role of soil community biodiversity in insect biodiversity

1. This study demonstrates that feedback loops between plants and insects contribute to both plant and insect diversity. Synthesis of several studies reveals that both bottom-up and top-down forces are important for plant and insect communities.2. Feedback loops between plants and soil organisms contribute to plant and soil diversity. An analysis of multiple systems reveals that pathogens, mutualists, and a wide variety of soil fauna directly influence, and are influenced by, plant diversity.3. The connection of plant–insect and soil–plant feedback loops leads to the maintenance of all three groups, and the maintenance of these feedback loops crucially affects insect diversity. Examples of the influence of soil community diversity on insect diversity, and the influence of insect diversity on soil community diversity, as well as feedbacks through all three trophic levels are provided.4. Finally, means of conserving and restoring soil communities to influence the conservation and restoration of insect communities are discussed.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78730/1/j.1752-4598.2010.00086.x.pd

Cortex cis -regulatory switches establish scale colour identity and pattern diversity in Heliconius

In Heliconius butterflies, wing colour pattern diversity and scale types are controlled by a few genes of large effect that regulate colour pattern switches between morphs and species across a large mimetic radiation. One of these genes, cortex, has been repeatedly associated with colour pattern evolution in butterflies. Here we carried out CRISPR knockouts in multiple Heliconius species and show that cortex is a major determinant of scale cell identity. Chromatin accessibility profiling and introgression scans identified cis-regulatory regions associated with discrete phenotypic switches. CRISPR perturbation of these regions in black hindwing genotypes recreated a yellow bar, revealing their spatially limited activity. In the H. melpomene/timareta lineage, the candidate CRE from yellow-barred phenotype morphs is interrupted by a transposable element, suggesting that cis-regulatory structural variation underlies these mimetic adaptations. Our work shows that cortex functionally controls scale colour fate and that its cis-regulatory regions control a phenotypic switch in a modular and pattern-specific fashion

Parental diet, pregnancy outcomes and offspring health:metabolic determinants in developing oocytes and embryos

The periconceptional period, embracing the terminal stages of oocyte growth and post-fertilisation development up to implantation, is sensitive to parental nutrition. Deficiencies or excesses in a range of macro- and micronutrients during this period can lead to impairments in fertility, fetal development and long-term offspring health. Obesity and genotype-related differences in regional adiposity are associated with impaired liver function and insulin resistance, and contribute to fatty acid-mediated impairments in sperm viability and oocyte and embryo quality, all of which are associated with endoplasmic reticulum stress and compromised fertility. Disturbances to maternal protein metabolism can elevate ammonium concentrations in reproductive tissues and disturb embryo and fetal development. Associated with this are disturbances to one-carbon metabolism, which can lead to epigenetic modifications to DNA and associated proteins in offspring that are both insulin resistant and hypertensive. Many enzymes involved in epigenetic gene regulation use metabolic cosubstrates (e.g. acetyl CoA and S-adenosyl methionine) to modify DNA and associated proteins, and so act as 'metabolic sensors' providing a link between parental nutritional status and gene regulation. Separate to their genomic contribution, spermatozoa can also influence embryo development via direct interactions with the egg and by seminal plasma components that act on oviductal and uterine tissues

Children with cleft lip and palate : capita selecta

Dit proefschrift beschrijft onderzoeken over de behandeling van kinderen met een schisis. Schisis is de meest voorkomende aangeboren afwijking van het gezicht, wat zich kenmerkt door een gespleten lip, kaak en/of gehemelte. De langdurige en veelomvattende behandeling wordt gedaan door een team van minstens plastisch chirurg, KNO-arts, (orthodontisch) tandarts, kaakchirurg, logopedist, kinderarts en een psycholoog. Elk team heeft een behandelprotocol waarin de grote lijnen van behandeling vastgelegd zijn. De behandelprotocollen van de verschillende schisisteams door het land en over de wereld blijken op bepaalde aspecten verschillend, bijvoorbeeld de mogelijkheden om een scheefstand van de neus te behandelen bij pasgeborenen en adolescenten. De onderzoeken in dit proefschrift zijn onderdeel van het verder ontwikkelen van behandelprotocollen en het uniformeren van de verschillende protocollen. Het effect van een relatief nieuwe behandeling voor de scheefstand van de neus bij een pasgeborene (nasoalveolaire molding) en de groeipatronen van een gezicht van een adolescent zijn onderzocht. Naast de behandeling van scheefstand van de neus, wordt de diagnostiek naar de mate van een bepaald spraakprobleem (velopharyngeale insufficiëntie) onderzocht en beschreven. In dit onderdeel wordt de toepasbaarheid van een meetinstrument, de nasometer, beoordeeld en de nog ontbrekende normwaarden van kinderen van 4 tot 6 jaar voor de nasometer gesteld. Eén hoofdstuk van dit proefschrift is gewijd aan een onderzoek waarin de beleving van het hebben van een schisis wordt beschreven in relatie tot het hebben van wensen voor een behandeling. Uit dit laatste blijkt dat er een basisbehoefte is om als zo normaal mogelijk gezien te worden. In this thesis is described how several aspects of the care for a patient with a cleft lip and palate were investigated. A cleft is the most common craniofacial malformation over the world. Many treatments have to be done in a long period, in an effort to achieve an as normal function and appearance as possible. Treatments are performed by members of a cleft team, which exists at least of plastic surgeon, pediatrician, ENT-surgeon, dentist, speech therapist, maxillofacial surgeon and psychologist. Every cleft team has their own protocol for treatment which might be different from the protocol from other cleft teams in the country and over the world. For example the possibilities of treating nasal deviation are applied variously during the neonatal and adolescent period. Effects of a relatively novel treatment for a deviated nose of the newborn (Nasoalveolar molding) and growth patterns of the adolescent face were investigated. Besides the treatment of a de! viated nose, an instrument for diagnosing a particular speech pathology (velopharyngeal insufficiency) , the nasometer, was evaluated on applicability on young Dutch children. Furthermore normative values for the nasometer for 4 to 6 years of age Dutch children were proposed. One chapter is addressed to the motivations behind wishes for treatment of patients with a cleft. It seems a basic motivation for treatment was the desire to be as normal as possible.