Concerns regarding pain constitute a large component of dental anxiety, and patients with high dental anxiety are likely to have exaggerated memory and prediction of dental pain. It remains to be ...investigated, however, if memory of anxiety is exaggerated in a manner similar to that of pain, and if anxiety and pain assimilate in memory over time. A sample of 79 patients presenting for emergency extraction rated their anxiety and pain before, during, and two weeks after the procedure. Measures of trait dental anxiety and fear of pain also were collected. All patients exaggerated their recall of procedure pain, but only those high in trait dental anxiety exaggerated their recall of anxiety. Highly anxious patients reported more pain prior to the procedure and expected more pain; ratings of anxiety and pain for all participants assimilated over time.
Dental patients generally recall more pain than they originally report, with ratings of pain related to state anxiety and dental fear, but the role of depression in recall of dental pain remains ...uncertain. This study examined the relative contributions of different variables in explaining dental pain recalled after tooth extraction. Patients presenting for tooth extraction, prior to extraction, rated their current dental pain and state anxiety, prediction of pain and state anxiety during extraction, depression, and dental fear. Immediately postprocedure and then 1 mo later, patients rated their pain and state anxiety during extraction. Hierarchical linear regression equations were used to explain variance in recalled pain and state anxiety. In addition, patients were divided into high and low dental fear and depression groups and compared on ratings of pain and state anxiety across time. In a final sample of 157 patients, the most important predictors of recalled pain were pain reported during extraction (β = .53) and recalled state anxiety (β = .52). Dental fear and depression had a significant interaction: only when patients reported less depression did those patients who reported more dental fear also report more pain than patients who reported less dental fear (P < 0.05, ω2 = .07). Patients who reported more depression entered the dental operatory reporting more pain, but all patients generally reported less pain during extraction than they predicted or recalled. Memory of state anxiety and pain reported during tooth extraction, not depression or state anxiety at the time of extraction, were critical factors in memory of the pain associated with the procedure. At higher levels of depression, patients higher and lower in dental fear did not differ in report of pain. Future studies are needed to further clarify interactions of depression and dental fear over time.
Phylogenetic comparison of bacteriophages requires whole genome approaches such as dotplot analysis, genome pairwise maps, and gene content analysis. Currently mycobacteriophages, a highly studied ...phage group, are categorized into related clusters based on the comparative analysis of whole genome sequences. With the recent explosion of phage isolation, a simple method for phage cluster prediction would facilitate analysis of crude or complex samples without whole genome isolation and sequencing. The hypothesis of this study was that mycobacteriophage-cluster prediction is possible using comparison of a single, ubiquitous, semi-conserved gene. Tape Measure Protein (TMP) was selected to test the hypothesis because it is typically the longest gene in mycobacteriophage genomes and because regions within the TMP gene are conserved.
A single gene, TMP, identified the known Mycobacteriophage clusters and subclusters using a Gepard dotplot comparison or a phylogenetic tree constructed from global alignment and maximum likelihood comparisons. Gepard analysis of 247 mycobacteriophage TMP sequences appropriately recovered 98.8% of the subcluster assignments that were made by whole-genome comparison. Subcluster-specific primers within TMP allow for PCR determination of the mycobacteriophage subcluster from DNA samples. Using the single-gene comparison approach for siphovirus coliphages, phage groupings by TMP comparison reflected relationships observed in a whole genome dotplot comparison and confirm the potential utility of this approach to another widely studied group of phages.
TMP sequence comparison and PCR results support the hypothesis that a single gene can be used for distinguishing phage cluster and subcluster assignments. TMP single-gene analysis can quickly and accurately aid in mycobacteriophage classification.
There is a crucial need to understand the genetic consequences of landscape modifications on continuous populations that could become fragmented, and to evaluate the degree of differentiation of ...isolated populations that were historically part of the core. Using 15 microsatellite loci, we evaluated the genetic structure of American black bears (Ursus americanus Pallas, 1780) across a vast, contiguous Ontario landscape (>1 × 10⁶ km²) that largely represents their pre-European settlement distribution. Because geographic barriers are absent, we predicted that isolation by distance would drive genetic structure. We identified three genetic clusters (Northwest, Southeast, and Bruce Peninsula) that were less differentiated than when assessed with mtDNA, suggesting the influence of male-biased dispersal on large-scale genetic differentiation. Isolation by distance (r = 0.552, P = 0.001) was supported by a weak, clinal variation between Northwest and Southeast, illustrating the challenges to delineate populations in wide-ranging taxa. The Bruce Peninsula cluster, confined to a small area under strong anthropogenic pressures, was more differentiated from neighbouring clusters (FST > 0.13, P < 0.0001), with a genetic diversity corresponding to disjunct populations of black bears. Our results could be used in landscape genetics models to project the evolution of population differentiation based on upcoming landscape modifications in northern regions of North America.
Subspecific designations are useful for wildlife management when they represent real barriers to gene flow. In this study, we assess genetic partitioning of mitochondrial DNA control region variation ...to determine if the structuring is congruent with morphologically defined subspecies of the common raccoon (Procyon lotor (L., 1758)). Mitochondrial control region sequences were analyzed within and among four subspecies (
Procyon lotor elucus
Bangs, 1898,
Procyon lotor lotor
(L., 1758),
Procyon lotor hirtus
Nelson and Goldman, 1930, and
Procyon lotor varius
Nelson and Goldman, 1930) that occur along the eastern seaboard of North America through to the central United States. This identified 76 haplotypes, 59 of which were specific to one of the four ranges, while only 1 haplotype was wide-spread. Phylogenetic analysis revealed three distinct lineages: one found primarily in Florida, one along the eastern seaboard, and the third predominantly to the west of the Mississippi River. These lineages likely diverged during the Pleistocene, as a result of rising sea levels creating barriers to gene flow. The range of P. l. elucus is still primarily one lineage supporting the subspecific designation; however, there is considerable lineage mixing across the ranges of P. l. hirtus, P. l. lotor, and P. l. varius, suggesting that they be synonymized to P. l. lotor. While some of these subspecies designations are not supported, we have found that landscape attributes affect gene flow, which can be of use in informing rabies management.
Axonal transport is required for the elaboration and maintenance of synaptic morphology and function 1, 2. Liprin-αs are scaffolding proteins 3 important for synapse structure and electrophysiology ...4. A reported interaction with Kinesin-3 (Kif1a) suggested Liprin-α may also be involved in axonal transport 5. Here, at the light and ultrastructural levels, we discover aberrant accumulations of synaptic vesicle markers (Synaptotagmin and Synaptobrevin-GFP) and clear-core vesicles along Drosophila Liprin-α mutant axons. Analysis of presynaptic markers reveals reduced levels at Liprin-α synapses. Direct visualization of Synaptobrevin-GFP transport in living animals demonstrates a decrease in anterograde processivity in Liprin-α mutants but also an increase in retrograde transport initiation. Pull-down assays reveal that Liprin-α interacts with Drosophila Kinesin-1 (Khc) but not dynein. Together, these findings suggest that Liprin-α promotes the delivery of synaptic material by a direct increase in kinesin processivity and an indirect suppression of dynein activation. This work is the first to use live observation in Drosophila mutants to demonstrate the role of a scaffolding protein in the regulation of bidirectional transport. It suggests the synaptic strength and morphology defects linked to Liprin-α 4, 6 may in part be due to a failure in the delivery of synaptic-vesicle precursors 7.
A Gene Expression Map for Caenorhabditis elegans Kim, Stuart K.; Lund, Jim; Kiraly, Moni ...
Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science),
09/2001, Letnik:
293, Številka:
5537
Journal Article
Recenzirano
We have assembled data from Caenorhabditis elegans DNA microarray experiments involving many growth conditions, developmental stages, and varieties of mutants. Co-regulated genes were grouped ...together and visualized in a three-dimensional expression map that displays correlations of gene expression profiles as distances in two dimensions and gene density in the third dimension. The gene expression map can be used as a gene discovery tool to identify genes that are co-regulated with known sets of genes (such as heat shock, growth control genes, germ line genes, and so forth) or to uncover previously unknown genetic functions (such as genomic instability in males and sperm caused by specific transposons).
Epidemiological models are useful tools for management to predict and control wildlife disease outbreaks. Dispersal behaviours of the vector are critical in determining patterns of disease spread, ...and key variables in epidemiological models, yet they are difficult to measure. Raccoon rabies is enzootic over the eastern seaboard of North America and management actions to control its spread are costly. Understanding dispersal behaviours of raccoons can contribute to refining management protocols to reduce economic impacts. Here, estimates of dispersal were obtained through parentage and spatial genetic analyses of raccoons in two areas at the front of the raccoon rabies epizootic in Ontario; Niagara (N = 296) and St Lawrence (N = 593). Parentage analysis indicated the dispersal distance distribution is highly positively skewed with 85% of raccoons, both male and female, moving < 3 km. The tail of this distribution indicated a small proportion (< 4%) moves more than 20 km. Analysis of spatial genetic structure provided a similar assessment as the spatial genetic correlation coefficient dropped sharply after 1 km. Directionality of dispersal would have important implications for control actions; however, evidence of directional bias was not found. Separating the data into age and sex classes the spatial genetic analyses detected female philopatry. Dispersal distances differed significantly between juveniles and adults, while juveniles in the Niagara region were significantly more related to each other than adults were to each other. Factors that may contribute to these differences include kin association, and spring dispersal. Changes to the timing and area covered by rabies control operations in Ontario are indicated based on these dispersal data.
Autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation, or autotransplantation, is effective in light-chain amyloidosis (AL), but it is associated with a high risk of early mortality (EM). In a multicenter ...randomized comparison against oral chemotherapy, autotransplantation was associated with 24% EM. We analyzed trends in outcomes after autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation for AL in North America.
Between 1995 and 2012, 1,536 patients with AL who underwent autotransplantation at 134 centers were identified in the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research database. EM and overall survival (OS) were analyzed in three time cohorts: 1995 to 2000 (n = 140), 2001 to 2006 (n = 596), and 2007 to 2012 (n = 800). Hematologic and renal responses and factors associated with EM, relapse and/or progression, progression-free survival and OS were analyzed in more recent subgroups from 2001 to 2006 (n = 197) and from 2007 to 2012 (n = 157).
Mortality at 30 and 100 days progressively declined over successive time periods from 11% and 20%, respectively, in 1995 to 2000 to 5% and 11%, respectively, in 2001 to 2006, and to 3% and 5%, respectively, in 2007 to 2012. Correspondingly, 5-year OS improved from 55% in 1995 to 2000 to 61% in 2001 to 2006 and to 77% in 2007 to 2012. Hematologic response to transplantation improved in the latest cohort. Renal response rate was 32%. Centers performing more than four AL transplantations per year had superior survival outcomes. In the multivariable analysis, cardiac AL was associated with high EM and inferior progression-free survival and OS. Autotransplantation in 2007 to 2012 and use of higher dosages of melphalan were associated with a lowered relapse risk. A Karnofsky score less than 80 and creatinine levels 2 mg/m(2) or greater were associated with worsened OS.
Post-transplantation survival in AL has improved, with a dramatic reduction in early post-transplantation mortality and excellent 5-year survival. The risk-benefit ratio for autotransplantation has changed, and randomized comparison with nontransplantation approaches is again warranted.
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