We recently identified the
ortholog of TTC1 (dTtc1) as an interacting partner of Egalitarian, an RNA adaptor of the Dynein motor. In order to better understand the function of this relatively ...uncharacterized protein, we depleted dTtc1 in the
female germline. Depletion of dTtc1 resulted in defective oogenesis and no mature eggs were produced. A closer examination revealed that mRNA cargoes normally transported by Dynein were relatively unaffected. However, mitochondria in dTtc1 depleted egg chambers displayed an extremely swollen phenotype. Ultrastructural analysis revealed a lack of cristae. These phenotypes were not observed upon disruption of Dynein. Thus, this function of dTtc1 is likely to be Dynein independent. Consistent with a role for dTtc1 in mitochondrial biology, a published proteomics screen revealed that dTtc1 interacts with numerous components of electron transport chain (ETC) complexes. Our results indicate that the expression level of several of these ETC components was significantly reduced upon depletion of dTtc1. Importantly, this phenotype was completely rescued upon expression of wild-type GFP-dTtc1 in the depleted background. Lastly, we demonstrate that the mitochondrial phenotype caused by a lack of dTtc1 is not restricted to the germline but is also observed in somatic tissues. Our model suggests that dTtc1, likely in combination with cytoplasmic chaperones, is required for stabilizing ETC components.
•Logopenic aphasia is usually, although not always, associated with Alzheimer disease.•Neuroimaging features differed between lvPPA patients with and without Aβ deposition.•Striking asymmetry and ...sparing of the right hemisphere suggested PiB-negative lvPPA.
Logopenic primary progressive aphasia (lvPPA) is a progressive language disorder characterized by anomia, difficulty repeating complex sentences, and phonological errors. The majority, although not all, lvPPA patients have underlying Alzheimer’s disease. We aimed to determine whether clinical or neuroimaging features differ according to the deposition of Aβ on Pittsburgh-compound B PET in lvPPA. Clinical features, patterns of atrophy on MRI, hypometabolism on FDG-PET, and white matter tract degeneration were compared between six PiB-negative and 20 PiB-positive lvPPA patients. PiB-negative patients showed more asymmetric left-sided patterns of atrophy, hypometabolism and white matter tract degeneration, with greater left anteromedial temporal and medial prefrontal involvement, than PiB-positive patients. PiB-positive patients showed greater involvement of right temporoparietal and frontal lobes. There was very little evidence for clinical differences between the groups. Strikingly asymmetric neuroimaging findings with relatively preserved right hemisphere may provide clues that AD pathology is absent in lvPPA.
在沙卡語和塔米爾語裡，準名詞併入有嚴格的線性鄰接限制──在 PF 裡，不但是名詞組，連名詞也要與動詞鄰接。筆者主張，此一鄰接限制可以以如下的方式來解釋：在 LF 裡，名詞組主要語加接到動詞上，與動詞形成一個複雜謂語的語意單元；在 PF 裡，如果沒有任何句法成份阻隔，名詞組主要語與其痕跡之間就會有鄰接限制。同時，筆者也討論準名詞併入之句法變異：(一) ...在某些語言裡（如沙卡語和塔米爾語），併入的名詞沒有格位與呼應，但在其他語言裡（如印地語與匈牙利語），併入的名詞則有格位與呼應；(二) 在印地語這一類的語言裡，動詞移位到時制破壞了動詞與併入名詞的連結，因此就沒有鄰接限制, Pseudo noun incorporation (PNI) constructions in Sakha and Tamil obey a strict linear adjacency condition, such that not only the noun phrase (NP) but its head noun must be adjacent to the verb at phonological form (PF). I argue that this adjacency condition can be explained if the head of the NP adjoins to the verb to create a unit interpreted as a complex predicate at logical form (LF). The resulting structure can be linearized at PF if and only if no syntactic expression comes between the two copies of the noun, forcing adjacency on the construction. I also discuss two sources of variation in the syntax of pseudo noun incorporation: the fact that pseudoincorporated nominals are invisible for case and agreement in some languages (Tamil and Sakha) but not others (Hindi and Hungarian), and the fact that the adjacency condition is canceled in languages like Hindi, where Verb-to-Tense movement serves to break up the verb-noun phrase (V-NP) cluster.
Summary
The clinical value of multiple staging investigations for high-grade dysplasia or early adenocarcinoma of the esophagus is unclear. A single-center prospective cohort of patients treated for ...early esophageal cancer between 2000 and 2019 was analyzed. This coincided with a transition period from esophagectomy to endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) as the treatment of choice. Patients were staged with computed tomography (CT), endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) and 2-deoxy-2-18Ffluoro-d-glucose (FDG) positron emission tomography(PET)/CT. The aim of this study was to assess their accuracy and impact on clinical management. 297 patients with high-grade dysplasia or early adenocarcinoma were included (endoscopic therapy/EMR n = 184; esophagectomy n = 113 of which a ‘combined’ group had surgery preceded by endoscopic therapy n = 23). Staging accuracy was low (accurate staging EMR: CT 40.1%, EUS 29.6%, FDG-PET/CT 11.0%; Esophagectomy: CT 43.3%, EUS 59.7%, FDG-PET/CT 29.6%; Combined: CT 28.6%, EUS46.2%, FDG-PET/CT 30.0%). Staging inaccuracies across all groups that could have changed management by missing T2 disease were CT 12%, EUS 12% and FDG-PET/CT 1.6%. The sensitivity of all techniques for detecting nodal disease was low (CT 12.5%, EUS 12.5%, FDG-PET/CT0.0%). Overall, FDG-PET/CT and EUS changed decision-making in only 3.2% of patients with an early cancer on CT and low-risk histology. The accuracy of staging with EUS, CT and FDG-PET/CT in patients with high-grade dysplasia or early adenocarcinoma of the esophagus is low. EUS and FDG-PET/CT added relevant staging information over standard CT in very few cases, and therefore, these investigations should be used selectively. Factors predicting the need for esophagectomy are predominantly obtained from EMR histology rather than staging investigations.
Background The purpose of this study was to test whether long‐term pair housing of male rhesus macaques ameliorated negative responses to stressful events that can occur in the course of routine ...husbandry or research procedures.
Methods Twelve singly housed individuals were videotaped during two potentially stressful events before and after social introduction into pairs. During each stressor, abnormal behavior and anxiety‐related behavior were quantified from videotape.
Results When visually exposed to the restraint and anesthesia of other monkeys, subjects showed significantly reduced frequencies of abnormal behavior when pair‐housed in comparison to their reactions when housed singly. Noisy and disruptive conversation between technicians standing immediately in front of the subjects’ cage did not elicit the same reduction in abnormal behavior. Neither test showed a significant difference across housing settings for anxiety‐related behaviors.
Conclusions These findings suggest that pair housing buffers adult male rhesus macaques against common stressors in the laboratory setting.
Background
Variable retention harvesting using aggregated retention (ARN) has been applied in some Tasmanian wet eucalypt forests for > 15 years. Implementation of ARN in Tasmania differs from most ...other regions, as forest influence (or the proximity of harvested areas to long-term retention) is primarily used to distinguish ARN from clearfelling rather than retention level, and broadcast burning is used as a regeneration treatment, resulting in a preference for edge aggregates instead of isolated retained islands. Clear emphasis on site-level retention of biological legacies and forest influence to facilitate re-establishment of mature forest species ensures that ARN coupes achieve the ecological objectives associated with retention forestry.
Results
Spatial and survey data collected from operational ARN coupes illustrates the development of this silvicultural practice over time and allows comparisons with conventional clearfelling. Over 90% of ARN coupes have met the forest influence target of > 50%. The number of ARN coupes harvested per year has varied, but mean retention levels (29%) and the mean area harvested per coupe (24 ha) have remained the same. Forest influence in ARN coupes has decreased over time, as have perimeter-to-area ratios, largely due to a decrease in the number of island aggregates. Although these measures of complexity have decreased, ARN coupes still have much greater forest influence, retention, and perimeter-to-area ratios when compared to conventional clearfell, burn and sow (CBS) coupes. The observed decrease in boundary complexity should facilitate regeneration burning in ARN coupes, although no increase in the proportion of burnt seedbed was observed. The proportion of burnt seedbed is strongly correlated with eucalypt seedling stocking and density in ARN coupes, and these attributes were all significantly lower in recent ARN coupes compared to clearfells. These differences appear to be due to achieving better burns in recent CBS coupes, rather than poorer ones in ARN coupes.
Conclusions
Although the area that can feasibly be harvested by ARN is limited by the requirement for regeneration burning, ARN provides clear biodiversity benefits and satisfactory silvicultural outcomes and is now firmly embedded as a viable alternative to clearfelling in Tasmanian wet eucalypt forests.
In July 2011, a Vibrio alginolyticus infection was diagnosed in a woman from Guernsey in the Channel Islands, British Isles after sea bathing and application of a natural seaweed dressing to a ...pre-existing leg wound. Microbiological investigation confirmed Vibrio in the wound and the species of seaweed used for the dressing. The washing of open wounds in seawater and use of unsterilised seaweed dressings should be discouraged, particularly in individuals with underlying risk conditions.
Aims
This study assesses patient barriers to successful telemedicine care in orthopaedic practices in a large academic practice in the COVID-19 era.
Methods
In all, 381 patients scheduled for ...telemedicine visits with three orthopaedic surgeons in a large academic practice from 1 April 2020 to 12 June 2020 were asked to participate in a telephone survey using a standardized Institutional Review Board-approved script. An unsuccessful telemedicine visit was defined as patient-reported difficulty of use or reported dissatisfaction with teleconferencing. Patient barriers were defined as explicitly reported barriers of unsatisfactory visit using a process-based satisfaction metric. Statistical analyses were conducted using analysis of variances (ANOVAs), ranked ANOVAs, post-hoc pairwise testing, and chi-squared independent analysis with 95% confidence interval.
Results
The survey response rate was 39.9% (n = 152). The mean age of patients was 51.1 years (17 to 85), and 55 patients (38%) were male. Of 146 respondents with completion of survey, 27 (18.5%) reported a barrier to completing their telemedicine visit. The majority of patients were satisfied with using telemedicine for their orthopaedic appointment (88.8%), and found the experience to be easy (86.6%). Patient-reported barriers included lack of proper equipment/internet connection (n = 13; 8.6%), scheduling difficulty (n = 2; 1.3%), difficulty following directions (n = 10; 6.6%), and patient-reported discomfort (n = 2; 1.3%). Barriers based on patient characteristics were age > 61 years, non-English primary language, inexperience with video conferencing, and unwillingness to try telemedicine prior to COVID-19.
Conclusion
The barriers identified in this study could be used to screen patients who would potentially have an unsuccessful telemedicine visit, allowing practices to provide assistance to patients to reduce the risk of an unsuccessful visit. Cite this article: Bone Jt Open 2021;2(9):745–751.
Depleted Uranium alloyed with titanium is used in armour penetrating munitions that have been fired in a number of conflict zones and testing ranges including the UK ranges at Kirkcudbright and ...Eskmeals. The study presented here evaluates the corrosion of DU alloy cylinders in soil on these two UK ranges and in the adjacent marine environment of the Solway Firth.
The estimated mean initial corrosion rates and times for complete corrosion range from 0.13 to 1.9 g cm−2 y−1 and 2.5–48 years respectively depending on the particular physical and geochemical environment.
The marine environment at the experimental site was very turbulent. This may have caused the scouring of corrosion products and given rise to a different geochemical environment from that which could be easily duplicated in laboratory experiments.
The rate of mass loss was found to vary through time in one soil environment and this is hypothesised to be due to pitting increasing the surface area, followed by a build up of corrosion products inhibiting further corrosion. This indicates that early time measurements of mass loss or corrosion rate may be poor indicators of late time corrosion behaviour, potentially giving rise to incorrect estimates of time to complete corrosion.
The DU alloy placed in apparently the same geochemical environment, for the same period of time, can experience very different amounts of corrosion and mass loss, indicating that even small variations in the corrosion environment can have a significant effect. These effects are more significant than other experimental errors and variations in initial surface area.
► In-situ experiments were conducted to evaluate corrosion rates of depleted uranium. ► Samples were corroded in marine sediments, open sea water and two terrestrial soils. ► The depleted uranium titanium alloy corroded fastest in the marine environments. ► Rates of mass loss can vary through time if corrosion products are not removed. ► Laboratory measurements do not replicate the complexities of real environments.
Coral reefs are subjected globally to a variety of natural and anthropogenic stressors that often act synergistically. Today, reversing ongoing and future coral reef degradation presents significant ...challenges and countering this negative trend will take considerable efforts and investments. Scientific knowledge can inform and guide the requisite decision-making process and offer practical solutions to the problem of protection as the effects of climate change exacerbate. However, implementation of solutions presently lags far behind the pace required to reverse global declines, and there is a need for an urgent and significant step-up in the extent and range of strategies being implemented. In this paper, we consider scientific frontiers in natural and social science research that can help build stronger support for reef management and improve the efficacy of interventions. We cover various areas including: (1) enhancing the case for reef conservation and management, (2) dealing with local stressors on reefs, (3) addressing global climate change impacts, (4) and reviewing various approaches to the governance of coral reefs. In sum, we consider scientific frontiers in natural and social science that will require further attention in coming years as managers’ work towards building stronger support for reef management and improve the efficacy of local interventions.
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