There is mounting evidence that family functioning is linked to childhood overweight and obesity, and that both of these are associated with health-related behaviours and adverse health outcomes in ...children and adolescents. This paper systematically examines the peer-reviewed evidence regarding the relationship between child and adolescent overweight and obesity and family functioning. Peer-reviewed literature published between 1990 and 2011 hosted in Scopus, Pub Med or Psyc INFO were searched, in addition to the reference lists of included papers. Twenty-one studies met the selection criteria. Of the 17 identified cross-sectional and longitudinal studies, 12 reported significant associations between family functioning and childhood overweight and obesity. The instruments used to measure family functioning in the identified studies were heterogeneous. Poor family functioning was associated with increased risk of obesity and overweight in children and adolescents, and obese children and adolescents were more likely to come from families with poor family functioning. Aspects of family functioning which were associated with increased risk of child and adolescent obesity included poor communication, poor behaviour control, high levels of family conflict and low family hierarchy values. Half (2/4) of the identified intervention studies showed a significant relationship between family functioning and changes in child weight. The results demonstrate that family functioning is linked to obesity; however, higher level evidence and greater understanding of the mechanisms behind this relationship are required. The results indicate a need for a standardised family functioning measure applicable across populations. The results provide evidence of the value of considering family functioning in childhood obesity research and intervention.
The distribution of silicon in the North Pacific is controlled by the utilization of silicic acid by diatoms, a process that fractionates silicon (Si) isotopic compositions. Silicon isotope ...variations are presented for six water column profiles from the surface mixed layer down to the deep waters of the North Pacific Ocean. Although the observed Si isotopic variations display an apparently simple inverse relationship with dissolved nutrient concentrations, in fact they reflect mixing of surface waters undergoing active Si isotope fractionation and deep-waters with more uniform concentrations and isotope compositions. Samples from the surface of the subtropical gyre have the lowest dissolved Si concentrations and heaviest Si isotope compositions of marine waters measured thus far. Fractionation in the surface waters follows a typical Rayleigh-type distillation curve for a ‘closed’ surface water reservoir resulting from stratification of the surface layer in the subarctic region. In contrast, an ‘open’ system prevails within the subtropical gyre where there is significant recycling of silicic acid in the upper water column and lateral transport of silicon within surface currents. For deep waters, the Si isotope composition distinguishes between the northern North Pacific Deep Water (NPDW) and the southerly-derived bottom water. The relatively light Si isotope compositions measured from waters within the subarctic gyre provides evidence for isolation of the nutrient pool in the North Pacific.
The subject of this book is how human beings construe their experience of the world. The construction of experience is usually thought of as knowledge, represented in the form of conceptual ...taxonomies, schemata, scripts and the like. The authors offer an interpretation that is complementary to this, treating experience not as knowing but as meaning; and hence as something that is construed in language. In other words, the concern is with the construal of human experience as a semantic system; and since language plays the central role not only in storing and exchanging experience but also in construing it, language is taken as the interpretative base. The focus of the book is both theoretical and descriptive. The authors consider it important that theory and description should develop in parallel, with constant interchange between the two. The major descriptive component is an account of the most general features of the ideational semantics of English, which is then exemplified in two familiar text types (recipes and weather forecasts). There is also a brief reference to the semantics of Chinese. Theoretical issues are raised throughout as they become relevant to the discussion, with the theoretical base being drawn from systemic functional linguistics. Both the theoretical and descriptive proposals offered in the book are compared and contrasted with approaches deriving from AI, cognitive science and cognitive linguistics.
A collection of 15 papers that look at the development of early childhood language. The papers are presented in three sections: infancy and protolanguage; transition from childhood tongue to mother ...tongue; early language and learning.
Background
Stroke/death rates within 30 days of carotid endarterectomy (CEA) and carotid artery stenting (CAS) in RCTs inform current clinical guidelines. However, the risks may have changed in ...recent years with wider use of effective stroke prevention therapies, especially statins, improved patient selection and growing operator expertise. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the procedural stroke/death risks from CEA and CAS have changed over time.
Methods
MEDLINE and Embase were searched systematically from inception to May 2016 for observational cohort studies of CEA and CAS. Studies included reported on more than 1000 patients, with 30‐day outcomes after the procedure according to patients' symptom status (recent stroke or transient ischaemic attack). Restricted maximum likelihood random‐effects and meta‐regressions methods were used to synthesize procedural stroke/death rates of CEA and CAS according to year of study recruitment completion.
Results
Fifty‐one studies, including 223 313 patients undergoing CEA and 72 961 undergoing CAS, were reviewed. Procedural stroke/death risks of CEA decreased over time in symptomatic and asymptomatic patients. Risks were substantially lower in studies completing recruitment in 2005 or later, both in symptomatic (5·11 per cent before 2005 versus 2·68 per cent from 2005 onwards; P = 0·002) and asymptomatic (3·17 versus 1·50 per cent; P < 0·001) patients. Procedural stroke/death rates of CAS did not change significantly over time (4·77 per cent among symptomatic and 2·59 per cent among asymptomatic patients). There was substantial heterogeneity in event rates and recruitment periods were long.
Conclusions
Risks of procedural stroke/death following CEA appear to have decreased substantially. There was no evidence of a change in stroke/death rates following CAS.
Endarterectomy outcomes improving
The lysis/lysogeny switch of bacteriophage lambda serves as a paradigm for binary cell fate decision, long-term maintenance of cellular state and stimulus-triggered switching between states. In the ...literature, the system is often referred to as "bistable." However, it remains unclear whether this term provides an accurate description or is instead a misnomer. Here we address this question directly. We first quantify transcriptional regulation governing lysogenic maintenance using a single-cell fluorescence reporter. We then use the single-cell data to derive a stochastic theoretical model for the underlying regulatory network. We use the model to predict the steady states of the system and then validate these predictions experimentally. Specifically, a regime of bistability, and the resulting hysteretic behavior, are observed. Beyond the steady states, the theoretical model successfully predicts the kinetics of switching from lysogeny to lysis. Our results show how the physics-inspired concept of bistability can be reliably used to describe cellular phenotype, and how an experimentally-calibrated theoretical model can have accurate predictive power for cell-state switching.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Cancer biomarkers are sought to support cancer diagnosis, predict cancer patient response to treatment and survival. Identifying reliable biomarkers for predicting cancer treatment response needs ...understanding of all aspects of cancer cell death and survival. Galectin-3 and Beclin1 are involved in two coordinated pathways of programmed cell death, apoptosis and autophagy and are linked to necroptosis/necrosis. The aim of the study was to quantify galectin-3 and Beclin1 mRNA in human cancer tissue cDNA panels and determine their utility as biomarkers of cancer cell survival.
A panel of 96 cDNAs from eight (8) different normal and cancer tissue types were used for quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) using ABI7900HT. Miner2.0, a web-based 4- and 3-parameter logistic regression software was used to derive individual well polymerase chain reaction efficiencies (E) and cycle threshold (Ct) values. Miner software derived formula was used to calculate mRNA levels and then fold changes. The ratios of cancer to normal tissue levels of galectin-3 and Beclin1 were calculated (using the mean for each tissue type). Relative mRNA expressions for galectin-3 were higher than for Beclin1 in all tissue (normal and cancer) types. In cancer tissues, breast, kidney, thyroid and prostate had the highest galectin-3 mRNA levels compared to normal tissues. High levels of Beclin1 mRNA levels were in liver and prostate cancers when compared to normal tissues. Breast, kidney and thyroid cancers had high galectin-3 levels and low Beclin1 levels.
Galectin-3 expression patterns in normal and cancer tissues support its reported roles in human cancer. Beclin1 expression pattern supports its roles in cancer cell survival and in treatment response. qRT-PCR analysis method used may enable high throughput studies to generate molecular biomarker sets for diagnosis and predicting cancer treatment response.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Techniques for the purification of Si for the determination of its natural stable isotopic composition have in the past been based on the requirements for gas-source mass-spectrometry, rather than ...MC-ICPMS. For high precision analyses by MC-ICPMS it is essential to have very pure solutions and in this paper a new technique is presented for the separation and purification of Si from natural samples to improve the determination of isotope ratios. A method has been optimised based on alkaline fusion followed by ion-exchange chromatography. The application to natural samples, such as river water samples and silicate mineral/rock samples is demonstrated. Alkali fusion avoids the use of hydrofluoric acid (HF), which introduces difficulties for the determination of Si isotope ratios using MC-ICPMS. By eliminating HF a 30–40% increase in sensitivity is achieved as well as a marked enhancement of mass bias stability leading to a factor of 2 improvement in reproducibility. The cation-exchange method enables processing of very small samples (3.6 μg Si) and a rapid and effective separation of Si from other cationic species. The overall recovery of Si during the entire procedure is better than 98% and no Si isotope fractionation is generated. Matrix tests demonstrate that this method is suitable for silicates, and that typical sulphate and nitrate abundances of river waters have no effect on measured Si isotope composition. The latter aspect is vital for analysis of river waters since the technique does not separate dissolved Si (silicic acid) from ambient anionic species. Overall, the new method presents a faster, safer and more reliable way to measure Si isotopes via MC-ICPMS.
We present hafnium (Hf) and neodymium (Nd) isotopic compositions and concentrations in surface waters of the eastern Atlantic Ocean between the coast of Spain and South-Africa. These data are ...complemented by Hf and Nd isotopic and concentration data, as well as rare earth element (REE) concentrations, in Saharan dust.
Hafnium concentrations range between a maximum of 0.52
pmol/kg in the area of the Canary Islands and a minimum value of 0.08
pmol/kg in the southern Angola Basin. Neodymium concentrations also show a local maximum in the area of the Canary Islands (26
pmol/kg) but are even higher between ∼20°N and ∼4°N reaching maximum concentrations of 35
pmol/kg. These elevated concentrations provide evidence of inputs from weathering of the Canary Islands and from the partial dissolution of dust from the Sahara/Sahel region. The inputs from ocean island weathering are also reflected in radiogenic Hf and Nd isotopes.
The Hf isotopic compositions of dust samples themselves are highly variable, ranging between
ε
Hf
=
−20 and −0.6. The combined Hf and Nd isotopic compositions of dust plot close to the “terrestrial array” during periods of appreciable dust load in the atmosphere. During low atmospheric dust loading combined Hf and Nd isotopic compositions similar to seawater are observed. Most of the variability can be explained in terms of variable degrees of zircon loss from the dust samples, which in turn is linked to sorting during atmospheric transport to the eastern Atlantic Ocean and possibly presorting by sedimentary redistribution on the continent. In addition, increasing relative proportions of radiogenic clay minerals with decreasing grain size may contribute to the radiogenic Hf isotopic compositions observed.
While the Nd isotopic composition in the surface ocean reflects the Nd isotopic composition of the Saharan dust adjacent to the Sahara/Sahel region, the release of Hf from that dust appears to be incongruent and results in surface ocean Hf isotopic compositions which are ∼10
ε
Hf more radiogenic than the bulk dust. Radiogenic Hf appears to be released from clays and possibly from trace apatite. Rare earth element patterns of dust samples indicate the presence of apatite but provide no evidence for ferromanganese grain coatings, suggesting that such coatings are insignificant in the release of Hf and Nd from Saharan dust to the surface ocean.
The Nd isotopic composition of the surface waters becomes less radiogenic south of the equator, most likely reflecting the release of Nd from Congo river sediments. The release of Hf from Saharan dust and the Congo river sediments, however, does not produce distinct Hf isotopic signatures in the surface ocean, implying that the mobile fraction of Hf integrated over large continental areas is isotopically uniform. The Hf isotopic uniformity in the surface ocean means that the limited variability in deep water isotopic compositions is consistent with a short deep water residence time and reflects homogenous continental inputs rather than efficient deep water homogenization.
Iron isotopic compositions potentially provide a powerful new tracer of planetary formation and differentiation processes and of secular and spatial changes in mantle oxidation state. However, the ...processes governing iron isotope fractionation in igneous rocks remain poorly understood. Here we show that there are significant variations in the iron isotope compositions (
δ
57/54Fe) of mantle rocks (0.9‰) and minerals (olivines 0.6‰, clinopyroxenes 0.9‰ and orthopyroxenes 0.8‰), with spinels showing the greatest total variation of 1.7‰. Positive linear functional relationships with slopes that are, within error, equal to unity are found between the
δ
57/54Fe values of coexisting orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene and olivine, strongly suggesting that the
δ
57/54Fe values of these minerals reflect intra-sample mineral–mineral isotopic equilibrium. Positive correlations between the
δ
57/54Fe values of silicate minerals and spinels also exist, although they are more scattered, which could be caused by late disturbance of mineral-spinel isotopic equilibrium. Bulk-rock, clinopyroxene and spinel
δ
57/54Fe values correlate with chemical indices of both melt extraction and oxidation. Iron isotope fractionation during spinel-facies partial melting is investigated using simple models, which demonstrate that the maximum expected fractionation between melt and residue will be ∼0.5‰, with the residue becoming isotopically light relative to the melt and to the initial source region. Hence melt extraction, in combination with significant changes in mantle oxidation state, may be an explanation for Fe isotopic variations in mantle peridotites. Metasomatism of the sub-arc mantle by iron-rich silicate melts originating from the subducting slab may also explain the light bulk-sample
δ
57/54Fe values of some arc peridotites (−
0.2‰ to −
0.6‰), but mass-balance calculations require these metasomatic agents to have extreme
δ
57/54Fe values (e.g. −
3.0‰). The large differences in the
δ
57/54Fe values of garnet and spinel facies rocks are likely to be caused by the contrasting behaviour of Fe
3+
during melting in the spinel and garnet facies. However, there is little difference in the
δ
57/54Fe values of MORB and OIB, despite the fact that OIB are considered, on the basis of incompatible element abundances, to arise dominantly by melting in the garnet stability field. Given that iron is a relatively compatible element, the similarities in the
δ
57/54Fe values of MORB and OIB provide strong evidence that MORB and OIB are both dominated by melting in the spinel facies.
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