Jacobian Maps Reveal Under-reported Brain Regions Sensitive to Extreme Binge Ethanol Intoxication in the Rat

Individuals aged 12–20 years drink 11% of all alcohol consumed in the United States with more than 90% consumed in the form of binge drinking. Early onset alcohol use is a strong predictor of future alcohol dependence. The study of the effects of excessive alcohol use on the human brain is hampered by limited information regarding the quantity and frequency of exposure to alcohol. Animal models can control for age at alcohol exposure onset and enable isolation of neural substrates of exposure to different patterns and quantities of ethanol (EtOH). As with humans, a frequently used binge exposure model is thought to produce dependence and affect predominantly corticolimbic brain regions. in vivo neuroimaging enables animals models to be examined longitudinally, allowing for each animal to serve as its own control. Accordingly, we conducted 3 magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sessions (baseline, binge, recovery) to track structure throughout the brains of wild type Wistar rats to test the hypothesis that binge EtOH exposure affects specific brain regions in addition to corticolimbic circuitry. Voxel-based comparisons of 13 EtOH- vs. 12 water- exposed animals identified significant thalamic shrinkage and lateral ventricular enlargement as occurring with EtOH exposure, but recovering with a week of abstinence. By contrast, pretectal nuclei and superior and inferior colliculi shrank in response to binge EtOH treatment but did not recover with abstinence. These results identify brainstem structures that have been relatively underreported but are relevant for localizing neurocircuitry relevant to the dynamic course of alcoholism

1.16 Sensitivity of honey bee larvae to plant protection products and impact of EFSA bee guidance document

In addition to other assessments, the 2013 EFSA bee guidance document requires the risk assessment of plant protection products on honey bee larvae. At the time the EFSA document was finalized, no data on honey bee larvae were available. In 2013 ECPA (the European Crop Protection Association) perfomed an impact analysis of the (then) new EFSA risk assessment and the reliability of the outcomes, using estimated endpoints derived from acute oral honey bee tests together with the usual extrapolation factors. Today, a number of honey bee larvae toxicity studies have been conducted according to the newly developed testing methods for single exposure (OECD TG 237) and repeated exposure testing (OECD GD 239). These experimental data have been used to update the ECPA impact analysis. Data on 114 active substances or formulated products were used, covering 166 worst case uses; (58 herbicides, 53 fungicides, 47 insecticides and 8 PGRs). The “pass” rates were determined according to the EFSA Bee guidance document and compared with the original outcome of the impact analysis from 2013 and with adult chronic toxicity data. When the findings of the impact analysis based on experimental data from 22 day larval tests was compared with the impact analysis from 2013 based on extrapolated data the two gave very similar results, thus indicating that the original assessment using acute data and extrapolation factors was suitably predictive.In addition to other assessments, the 2013 EFSA bee guidance document requires the risk assessment of plant protection products on honey bee larvae. At the time the EFSA document was finalized, no data on honey bee larvae were available. In 2013 ECPA (the European Crop Protection Association) perfomed an impact analysis of the (then) new EFSA risk assessment and the reliability of the outcomes, using estimated endpoints derived from acute oral honey bee tests together with the usual extrapolation factors. Today, a number of honey bee larvae toxicity studies have been conducted according to the newly developed testing methods for single exposure (OECD TG 237) and repeated exposure testing (OECD GD 239). These experimental data have been used to update the ECPA impact analysis. Data on 114 active substances or formulated products were used, covering 166 worst case uses; (58 herbicides, 53 fungicides, 47 insecticides and 8 PGRs). The “pass” rates were determined according to the EFSA Bee guidance document and compared with the original outcome of the impact analysis from 2013 and with adult chronic toxicity data. When the findings of the impact analysis based on experimental data from 22 day larval tests was compared with the impact analysis from 2013 based on extrapolated data the two gave very similar results, thus indicating that the original assessment using acute data and extrapolation factors was suitably predictive

Orthognathic surgery to improve malocclusion in a chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes)

Malocclusion is a common finding in both companion animals and humans due to dental or maxillofacial discrepancies. Treatment depends on the complications and the species it presents in. In humans, orthognathic surgery is commonly performed to address skeletal malocclusions. A male chimpanzee born in 2002 and orphaned due to the bush meat pet trade was rescued in 2010 by Chimp Eden, a chimpanzee sanctuary. In 2017, it presented with inappetence and weight loss of 6-month duration. After a computed tomography scan was performed and full mouth impressions were made, a diagnosis of asymmetry of the mandible with the left side markedly shorter and rotated along its long axis was made (malocclusion class IV in a side-to-side direction). A bilateral sagittal split operation was performed to correct the malocclusion and improve its feeding. At the time of writing this report, it was eating freely and no complications were seen on multiple post-operative radiographs.https://wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/vrc2hj2024Centre for Veterinary Wildlife StudiesCompanion Animal Clinical StudiesProduction Animal StudiesSDG-03:Good heatlh and well-bein

Religion and Popular Music

The interactions between popular music and religion are manyfold and highly complex. Popular music as an important part of popular culture is a means of communication. Music can transmit not only emotions and a sense of community but also religious knowledge, knowledge that leaves diverse traces in different times and places. In the end, whether we extract religious meaning from popular music and what that meaning is depend on our background and on our capacity to contextualise symbols, motives and narratives – and also on the media used to convey these references. By analysing Florence + The Machines song “Big God” and its music video we will address some of the questions that arise while working in the field of popular music and religion

Trauma, Memory and Religion

How can we screen trauma? This question might lead the perception of documentary films about atrocities in the 20th and 21st centuries, like S21 THE KHMER ROUGE KILLING MACHINE (Rithy Panh, CAMB/FR 2003) about Cambodia, THE LOOK OF SILENCE (Joshua Oppenheimer, ID/DK 2014) about Indonesia or DAS RADIKAL BÖSE (Stefan Ruzowitzky, AT 2013) about Nazi-Europe. A concern that may emerge as we watch films on atrocities is whether these artistic representations perhaps guide the public away from what “really happened”. There certainly is a huge gap between, on the one hand, the immediate experience of the event that lies behind the interpretative screening and, on the other hand, watching the director’s material while neither being a part nor ever having been part of the event. Yet often filmic representations are not intended to show what happened; instead they present case studies to be explored in the present. Often the films contain an inherent critique of genocidal violence and present humanistic perspectives on obedience. Mostly, these films underline the humanity of the victims, seeking to give names, faces and biographies so that they are much more than just numbers. What appears on the screen therefore challenges the audience with a moral question: what would you do

Francisella tularensis Transmission by Solid Organ Transplantation, 20171.

In July 2017, fever and sepsis developed in 3 recipients of solid organs (1 heart and 2 kidneys) from a common donor in the United States; 1 of the kidney recipients died. Tularemia was suspected only after blood cultures from the surviving kidney recipient grew Francisella species. The organ donor, a middle-aged man from the southwestern United States, had been hospitalized for acute alcohol withdrawal syndrome, pneumonia, and multiorgan failure. F. tularensis subsp. tularensis (clade A2) was cultured from archived spleen tissue from the donor and blood from both kidney recipients. Whole-genome multilocus sequence typing indicated that the isolated strains were indistinguishable. The heart recipient remained seronegative with negative blood cultures but had been receiving antimicrobial drugs for a medical device infection before transplant. Two lagomorph carcasses collected near the donor's residence were positive by PCR for F. tularensis subsp. tularensis (clade A2). This investigation documents F. tularensis transmission by solid organ transplantation

Transiting exoplanets from the CoRoT space mission VIII. CoRoT-7b: the first Super-Earth with measured radius

We report the discovery of very shallow (DF/F = 3.4 10-4), periodic dips in the light curve of an active V = 11.7 G9V star observed by the CoRoT satellite, which we interpret as due to the presence of a transiting companion. We describe the 3-colour CoRoT data and complementary ground-based observations that support the planetary nature of the companion. Methods. We use CoRoT color information, good angular resolution ground-based photometric observations in- and out- of transit, adaptive optics imaging, near-infrared spectroscopy and preliminary results from Radial Velocity measurements, to test the diluted eclipsing binary scenarios. The parameters of the host star are derived from optical spectra, which were then combined with the CoRoT light curve to derive parameters of the companion. We examine carefully all conceivable cases of false positives, and all tests performed support the planetary hypothesis. Blends with separation larger than 0.40 arcsec or triple systems are almost excluded with a 8 10-4 risk left. We conclude that, as far as we have been exhaustive, we have discovered a planetary companion, named CoRoT-7b, for which we derive a period of 0.853 59 +/- 3 10-5 day and a radius of Rp = 1.68 +/- 0.09 REarth. Analysis of preliminary radial velocity data yields an upper limit of 21 MEarth for the companion mass, supporting the finding. CoRoT-7b is very likely the first Super-Earth with a measured radius.Comment: Accepted in Astronomy and Astrophysics; typos and language corrections; version sent to the printer w few upgrade

Factors associated with problem drinking among women employed in food and recreational facilities in northern Tanzania.

BACKGROUND: There is growing evidence that alcohol consumption is associated with increased risk of HIV infection. To determine factors associated with problem drinking, we analyzed data collected in two prospective cohorts of at-risk female food and recreational facility workers in northern Tanzania. METHODS: We enrolled HIV seronegative women aged 18-44 years and employed in the towns of Geita, Kahama, Moshi, and Shinyanga. At enrolment, women were interviewed to obtain information about alcohol use, using CAGE and AUDIT screening scales, and risk factors for HIV infection. Blood and genital samples were collected for detection of HIV and sexually transmitted infections (STIs). We characterized alcohol use, concordance, and agreement of the scales, and examined the associations between characteristics of participants and problem drinking as defined by both scales using logistic regression. Lastly, we assessed problem drinking as a risk factor for recent sexual behavior and prevalent STIs. RESULTS: Among enrollees, 68% women reported ever drinking alcohol; of these 76% reported drinking alcohol in the past 12 months. The prevalence of problem drinking was 20% using CAGE and 13% using AUDIT. Overall concordance between the scales was 75.0% with a Kappa statistic of 0.58. After adjusting for age, independent factors associated with problem drinking, on both scales, were marital status, occupation, facility type, increasing number of lifetime sexual partners, and transactional sex in the past 12 months. In addition, women who were problem drinkers on either scale were more likely to report having ≥ 1 sexual partner (CAGE: aOR = 1.56, 95% confidence interval, CI: 1.10-2.23; AUDIT: aOR = 2.00, 95% CI: 1.34-3.00) and transactional sex (CAGE: aOR = 1.79, 95% CI: 1.26-2.56; AUDIT: aOR = 1.51, 95% CI: 1.04-2.18), in the past 3 months. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that interventions to reduce problem drinking in this population may reduce high-risk sexual behaviors and contribute in lowering the risk of HIV infection

The Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey of SDSS-III

The Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS) is designed to measure the scale of baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO) in the clustering of matter over a larger volume than the combined efforts of all previous spectroscopic surveys of large scale structure. BOSS uses 1.5 million luminous galaxies as faint as i=19.9 over 10,000 square degrees to measure BAO to redshifts z<0.7. Observations of neutral hydrogen in the Lyman alpha forest in more than 150,000 quasar spectra (g<22) will constrain BAO over the redshift range 2.15<z<3.5. Early results from BOSS include the first detection of the large-scale three-dimensional clustering of the Lyman alpha forest and a strong detection from the Data Release 9 data set of the BAO in the clustering of massive galaxies at an effective redshift z = 0.57. We project that BOSS will yield measurements of the angular diameter distance D_A to an accuracy of 1.0% at redshifts z=0.3 and z=0.57 and measurements of H(z) to 1.8% and 1.7% at the same redshifts. Forecasts for Lyman alpha forest constraints predict a measurement of an overall dilation factor that scales the highly degenerate D_A(z) and H^{-1}(z) parameters to an accuracy of 1.9% at z~2.5 when the survey is complete. Here, we provide an overview of the selection of spectroscopic targets, planning of observations, and analysis of data and data quality of BOSS.Comment: 49 pages, 16 figures, accepted by A