Adverse Childhood Experiences and Alcohol Consumption in Midlife and Early Old-Age

AIMS: To examine the individual and cumulative effects of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on alcohol consumption in midlife and early old-age, and the role of ACEs in 10-year drinking trajectories across midlife. METHODS: Data were from the Whitehall II study, a longitudinal British civil service-based cohort study (N = 7870, 69.5% male). Multinomial logistic regression was used to examine the individual and cumulative effects of ACEs on weekly alcohol consumption. Mixed-effect multilevel modelling was used to explore the relationship between ACEs and change in alcohol consumption longitudinally. RESULTS: Participants who were exposed to parental arguments/fights in childhood were 1.24 (95% CI 1.06, 1.45) times more likely to drink at hazardous levels in midlife (mean age 56 years) after controlling for covariates and other ACEs. For each additional exposure to an ACE, the risk of hazardous drinking versus moderate drinking was increased by 1.12 (95% CI 1.03, 1.21) after adjusting for sex, age, adult socio-economic status, ethnicity and marital status. No associations between ACEs and increased risk of hazardous drinking in early old-age (mean age 66 years) were found. In longitudinal analyses, ACEs did not significantly influence 10-year drinking trajectories across midlife. CONCLUSION: The effect of exposure to parental arguments on hazardous drinking persists into midlife

A comparison of methods for determining ploidy in white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus)

Release of sturgeon with abnormal ploidy into the wild may result in reduced fitness due to lowered fertility in the F2 and subsequent generations. Further, there is evidence that ploidy affects reproductive development and caviar yield. Therefore, the ability to accurately characterize the ploidy of white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus)is essential for both commercial and conservation aquaculture. This study compares nuclear volume and whole erythrocyte long-axis lengths obtained using Coulter counter and blood smears, respectively, from captive white sturgeon from populations originating in California and Idaho. We examine which method provides the most accurate, time efficient and cost-effective characterization of ploidy in this species. Results from Coulter counter and blood smears were compared to results from flow cytometry, the gold standard for genome size analysis. Previous work suggests that blood smears can distinguish between 8N (diploid)and 12N (triploid)sturgeon, but further analysis is required to see if this method can also be used to identify 10N fish and to provide robust evidence of its utility in 8N and 12N fish across populations. In this study, we demonstrated that the Coulter counter had 100% agreement with flow cytometry in ploidy assignment, while blood smears vary in their accuracy based on population. Blood smears showed a high degree of overlap in erythrocyte long-axis length between 8N and 10N individuals as well as some overlap between 10N and 12N individuals in the California fish, and a high degree of overlap between 8N and 12N individuals in the Idaho fish. Although blood smears are time-intensive and vary in their ploidy assignment accuracy, they are a low-cost technique and as such may have some utility for caviar farms attempting to identify 12N individuals in a small number of broodstock. By comparing the accuracy, efficiency and cost of these three methods, sturgeon farmers and conservation hatcheries will be able to choose the best method for their needs in determining the ploidy of their fish. We determined that Coulter counter is equally accurate to flow cytometry and is also the most time efficient method for ploidy determination in white sturgeon

Using structural information to change the phosphotransfer specificity of a two-component chemotaxis signalling complex.

addresses: Oxford Centre for Integrative Systems Biology, Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.notes: PMCID: PMC2817712types: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov'tCopyright: © 2010 Bell et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.Two-component signal transduction pathways comprising histidine protein kinases (HPKs) and their response regulators (RRs) are widely used to control bacterial responses to environmental challenges. Some bacteria have over 150 different two-component pathways, and the specificity of the phosphotransfer reactions within these systems is tightly controlled to prevent unwanted crosstalk. One of the best understood two-component signalling pathways is the chemotaxis pathway. Here, we present the 1.40 A crystal structure of the histidine-containing phosphotransfer domain of the chemotaxis HPK, CheA(3), in complex with its cognate RR, CheY(6). A methionine finger on CheY(6) that nestles in a hydrophobic pocket in CheA(3) was shown to be important for the interaction and was found to only occur in the cognate RRs of CheA(3), CheY(6), and CheB(2). Site-directed mutagenesis of this methionine in combination with two adjacent residues abolished binding, as shown by surface plasmon resonance studies, and phosphotransfer from CheA(3)-P to CheY(6). Introduction of this methionine and an adjacent alanine residue into a range of noncognate CheYs, dramatically changed their specificity, allowing protein interaction and rapid phosphotransfer from CheA(3)-P. The structure presented here has allowed us to identify specificity determinants for the CheA-CheY interaction and subsequently to successfully reengineer phosphotransfer signalling. In summary, our results provide valuable insight into how cells mediate specificity in one of the most abundant signalling pathways in biology, two-component signal transduction

The Sydney Multisite Intervention of LaughterBosses and ElderClowns (SMILE) study: Cluster randomised trial of humour therapy in nursing homes

Objectives: To determine whether humour therapy reduces depression (primary outcome), agitation and behavioural disturbances and improves social engagement and quality-of-life in nursing home residents. Design: The Sydney Multisite Intervention of LaughterBosses and ElderClowns study was a singleblind cluster randomised controlled trial of humour therapy. Setting: 35 Sydney nursing homes. Participants: All eligible residents within geographically defined areas within each nursing home were invited to participate. Intervention: Professional 'ElderClowns' provided 9-12 weekly humour therapy sessions, augmented by resident engagement by trained staff 'LaughterBosses'. Controls received usual care. Measurements: Depression scores on the Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia, agitation scores on the Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory, behavioural disturbance scores on the Neuropsychiatric Inventory, social engagement scores on the withdrawal subscale of Multidimensional Observation Scale for Elderly Subjects, and self-rated and proxy-rated quality-of-life scores on a health-related quality-of-life tool for dementia, the DEMQOL. All outcomes were measured at the participant level by researchers blind to group assignment. Randomisation: Sites were stratified by size and level of care then assigned to group using a random number generator. Results: Seventeen nursing homes (189 residents) received the intervention and 18 homes (209 residents) received usual care. Groups did not differ significantly over time on the primary outcome of depression, or on behavioural disturbances other than agitation, social engagement and quality of life. The secondary outcome of agitation was significantly reduced in the intervention group compared with controls over 26 weeks (time by group interaction adjusted for covariates: p=0.011). The mean difference in change from baseline to 26 weeks in Blom-transformed agitation scores after adjustment for covariates was 0.17 (95% CI 0.004 to 0.34, p=0.045). Conclusions: Humour therapy did not significantly reduce depression but significantly reduced agitation

Accuracy of Malaria Rapid Diagnostic Tests in Community Studies and their Impact on Treatment of Malaria in an Area with Declining Malaria Burden in North-Eastern Tanzania.

Despite some problems related to accuracy and applicability of malaria rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs), they are currently the best option in areas with limited laboratory services for improving case management through parasitological diagnosis and reducing over-treatment. This study was conducted in areas with declining malaria burden to assess; 1) the accuracy of RDTs when used at different community settings, 2) the impact of using RDTs on anti-malarial dispensing by community-owned resource persons (CORPs) and 3) adherence of CORPs to treatment guidelines by providing treatment based on RDT results. Data were obtained from: 1) a longitudinal study of passive case detection of fevers using CORPs in six villages in Korogwe; and 2) cross-sectional surveys (CSS) in six villages of Korogwe and Muheza districts, north-eastern, Tanzania. Performance of RDTs was compared with microscopy as a gold standard, and factors affecting their accuracy were explored using a multivariate logistic regression model. Overall sensitivity and specificity of RDTs in the longitudinal study (of 23,793 febrile cases; 18,154 with microscopy and RDTs results) were 88.6% and 88.2%, respectively. In the CSS, the sensitivity was significantly lower (63.4%; χ2=367.7, p<0.001), while the specificity was significantly higher (94.3%; χ2=143.1, p<0.001) when compared to the longitudinal study. As determinants of sensitivity of RDTs in both studies, parasite density of<200 asexual parasites/μl was significantly associated with high risk of false negative RDTs (OR≥16.60, p<0.001), while the risk of false negative test was significantly lower among cases with fever (axillary temperature ≥37.5 °C) (OR≤0.63, p≤0.027). The risk of false positive RDT (as a determinant of specificity) was significantly higher in cases with fever compared to afebrile cases (OR≥2.40, p<0.001). Using RDTs reduced anti-malarials dispensing from 98.9% to 32.1% in cases aged ≥5 years. Although RDTs had low sensitivity and specificity, which varied widely depending on fever and parasite density, using RDTs reduced over-treatment with anti-malarials significantly. Thus, with declining malaria prevalence, RDTs will potentially identify majority of febrile cases with parasites and lead to improved management of malaria and non-malaria fevers

Dynamical Mordell-Lang conjecture for birational polynomial morphisms on A2\mathbb{A}^2

We prove the dynamical Mordell-Lang conjecture for birational polynomial morphisms on $\mathbb{A}^2$

Electric Field Effects on Graphene Materials

Understanding the effect of electric fields on the physical and chemical properties of two-dimensional (2D) nanostructures is instrumental in the design of novel electronic and optoelectronic devices. Several of those properties are characterized in terms of the dielectric constant which play an important role on capacitance, conductivity, screening, dielectric losses and refractive index. Here we review our recent theoretical studies using density functional calculations including van der Waals interactions on two types of layered materials of similar two-dimensional molecular geometry but remarkably different electronic structures, that is, graphene and molybdenum disulphide (MoS$_2$). We focus on such two-dimensional crystals because of they complementary physical and chemical properties, and the appealing interest to incorporate them in the next generation of electronic and optoelectronic devices. We predict that the effective dielectric constant ($\varepsilon$) of few-layer graphene and MoS$_2$ is tunable by external electric fields ($E_{\rm ext}$). We show that at low fields ($E_{\rm ext}^{}<0.01$ V/\AA) $\varepsilon$ assumes a nearly constant value $\sim$4 for both materials, but increases at higher fields to values that depend on the layer thickness. The thicker the structure the stronger is the modulation of $\varepsilon$ with the electric field. Increasing of the external field perpendicular to the layer surface above a critical value can drive the systems to an unstable state where the layers are weakly coupled and can be easily separated. The observed dependence of $\varepsilon$ on the external field is due to charge polarization driven by the bias, which show several similar characteristics despite of the layer considered.Comment: Invited book chapter on Exotic Properties of Carbon Nanomatter: Advances in Physics and Chemistry, Springer Series on Carbon Materials. Editors: Mihai V. Putz and Ottorino Ori (11 pages, 4 figures, 30 references

Distances from Surface Brightness Fluctuations

The practice of measuring galaxy distances from their spatial fluctuations in surface brightness is now a decade old. While several past articles have included some review material, this is the first intended as a comprehensive review of the surface brightness fluctuation (SBF) method. The method is conceptually quite simple, the basic idea being that nearby (but unresolved) star clusters and galaxies appear "bumpy", while more distant ones appear smooth. This is quantified via a measurement of the amplitude of the Poisson fluctuations in the number of unresolved stars encompassed by a CCD pixel (usually in an image of an elliptical galaxy). Here, we describe the technical details and difficulties involved in making SBF measurements, discuss theoretical and empirical calibrations of the method, and review the numerous applications of the method from the ground and space, in the optical and near-infrared. We include discussions of stellar population effects and the "universality" of the SBF standard candle. A final section considers the future of the method.Comment: Invited review article to appear in: `Post-Hipparcos Cosmic Candles', A. Heck & F. Caputo (Eds), Kluwer Academic Publ., Dordrecht, in press. 22 pages, including 3 postscript figures; uses Kluwer's crckapb.sty LaTex macro file, enclose

Terrestrial exposure of a fresh Martian meteorite causes rapid changes in hydrogen isotopes and water concentrations

Determining the hydrogen isotopic compositions and H2O contents of meteorites and their components is important for addressing key cosmochemical questions about the abundance and source(s) of water in planetary bodies. However, deconvolving the effects of terrestrial contamination from the indigenous hydrogen isotopic compositions of these extraterrestrial materials is not trivial, because chondrites and some achondrites show only small deviations from terrestrial values such that even minor contamination can mask the indigenous values. Here we assess the effects of terrestrial weathering and contamination on the hydrogen isotope ratios and H2O contents of meteoritic minerals through monitored terrestrial weathering of Tissint, a recent Martian fall. Our findings reveal the rapidity with which this weathering affects nominally anhydrous phases in extraterrestrial materials, which illustrates the necessity of sampling the interiors of even relatively fresh meteorite falls and underlines the importance of sample return missions

Restoration of diaphragmatic function after diaphragm reinnervation by inferior laryngeal nerve; experimental study in rabbits

OBJECTIVES: To assess the possibilities of reinnervation in a paralyzed hemidiaphragm via an anastomosis between phrenic nerve and inferior laryngeal nerve in rabbits. Reinnervation of a paralyzed diaphragm could be an alternative to treat patients with ventilatory insufficiency due to upper cervical spine injuries. MATERIAL AND METHOD: Rabbits were divided into five groups of seven rabbits each. Groups I and II were respectively the healthy and the denervated control groups. The 3 other groups were all reinnervated using three different surgical procedures. In groups III and IV, phrenic nerve was respectively anastomosed with the abductor branch of the inferior laryngeal nerve and with the trunk of the inferior laryngeal nerve. In group V, the fifth and fourth cervical roots were respectively anastomosed with the abductor branch of the inferior laryngeal nerve and with the nerve of the sternothyroid muscle (originating from the hypoglossal nerve). Animals were evaluated 4 months later using electromyography, transdiaphragmatic pressure measurements, sonomicrometry and histological examination. RESULTS: A poor inspiratory activity was found in quiet breathing in the reinnervated groups, with an increasing pattern of activity during effort. In the reinnervated groups, transdiaphragmatic pressure measurements and sonomicrometry were higher in group III with no significant differencewith groups IV and V. CONCLUSION: Inspiratory contractility of an hemidiaphragm could be restored with immediate anastomosis after phrenic nerve section between phrenic nerve and inferior laryngeal nerve