Deformed wing virus and drone mating flights in the honey bee (Apis mellifera): implications for sexual transmission of a major honey bee virus

Deformed wing virus (DWV) represents an ideal model to study the interaction between mode of transmission and virulence in honey bees since it exhibits both horizontal and vertical transmissions. However, it is not yet clear if venereal-vertical transmission represents a regular mode of transmission for this virus in natural honey bee populations. Here, we provide clear evidence for the occurrence of high DWV titres in the endophallus of sexually mature drones collected from drone congregation areas (DCAs). Furthermore, the endophallus DWV titres of drones collected at their maternal hives were no different from drones collected at nearby DCAs, suggesting that high-titre DWV infection of the endophallus does not hinder the ability of drones to reach the mating area. The results are discussed within the context of the dispersal of DWV between colonies and the definition of DWV virulence with respect to the transmission route and the types of tissues infected.

Hepatitis A outbreak predominantly affecting men who have sex with men in Northern Ireland, October 2008 to July 2009

We describe an outbreak of hepatitis A which evolved in Northern Ireland between October 2008 and July 2009, against a background of large concurrent hepatitis A outbreaks in various parts of Europe. Thirty-eight cases were defined as outbreak cases using a stratified case definition; 36 were males with a median age of 29 years and of the 28 males whose sexual orientation was known, 26 were men who have sex with men (MSM). Detailed descriptive epidemiology data collected through standardised questionnaires, together with sequencing of a 289 bp fragment of the VP1/2PA region of the virus, significantly aided the understanding of the spread of the outbreak when non-MSM cases occurred. The sequence of the outbreak strain, genotype IA, was indistinguishable from that involved in a large outbreak in the Czech Republic. Although seeded in a generally susceptible Northern Ireland population, the outbreak remained mostly contained in MSM, showing this sub-population to be the most vulnerable despite ongoing hepatitis A vaccination programmes in genito-urinary medicine clinics.

Transfusion in the management of patients with megaloblastic anaemia

Transfusion has been associated with significant morbidity and mortality in megaloblastic anaemia (MA). This retrospective study was undertaken to examine the usefulness of transfusion in the management of MA. Fifty-two patients with MA were identified. Of the 20 transfused patients 13 were treated with diuretics and six with potassium supplements. The mean haemoglobin (Hb) of the transfused group was 6.5 g/dl (range 4.8-10.4 g/dl), and of the 32 non-transfused patients 10.5 g/dl (range 5.6-17.0 g/dl). The Hb and packed cell volume (PCV) were significantly lower in the transfused group. Only two of 32 non-transfused group were given potassium supplements. In this small group of patients with MA, transfusion appeared to be safe and no complications of transfusion were identified. However, advice was not being followed. We would suggest that, although transfusion has a minor role in the management of MA, consideration must be given to the general hazards of transfusion.

The Governance of Sexual Offending Across Europe: Penal Policies, Political Economies and the Institutionalization of Risk

This article examines why England and Wales have comparatively one of the most stringent systems for the governance of sexual offending within Western Europe. While England and Wales, like the USA, have adopted broadly exclusionary, managerialist penal policies based around incapacitation and targeted surveillance, many other Western European countries have opted for more inclusionary therapeutic interventions. Divergences in state approaches to sex offender risk, particularly in relation to notification and vetting schemes, are initially examined with reference to the respective theoretical frameworks of ‘policy transfer’ and differing political economies. Chiefly, however, differences in penal policies are attributed to the social and political construction of risk and its control. There may be multiple expressions of risk relating to expert, lay, moral or emotive aspects. It is argued, however, that it is the particular convergence and alignment of these dimensions on the part of the various stakeholders in the UK – government, media, public and professional – that leads to risk becoming institutionalized in the form of punitive regulatory policies for managing the dangerous.

Development and comparison of a Primer-Probe Energy Transfer based assay and a 5 ' conjugated Minor Groove Binder assay for sensitive real-time PCR detection of infectious laryngotracheitis virus

In this study the design and development of two real-time PCR assays for the rapid, sensitive and specific detection of infectious laryngotracheitis virus (ILTV) DNA is described. A Primer-Probe Energy Transfer (PriProET) assay and 5' conjugated Minor Groove Binder (MGB) method are compared and contrasted. Both have been designed to target the thymidine kinase gene of the ILTV genome. Both PriProET and MGB assays are capable of detecting 20 copies of a DNA standard per reaction and are linear from 2 x 10(8) to 2 x 10(2) copies/mu l. Neither PriProET, nor MGB reacted with heterologous herpesviruses, indicating a high specificity of the two methods as novel tools for virus detection and identification. This study demonstrates the suitability of PriProET and 5' conjugated MGB probes as real-time PCR chemistries for the diagnosis of respiratory diseases caused by ILTV. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A minor catalase/peroxidase from Burkholderia cenocepacia is required for normal aconitase activity

The opportunistic bacterium Burkholderia cenocepacia C5424 contains two catalase/peroxidase genes, katA and katB. To investigate the functions of these genes, katA and katB mutants were generated by targeted integration of suicide plasmids into the katA and katB genes. The catalase/peroxidase activity of the katA mutant was not affected as compared with that of the parental strain, while no catalase/peroxidase activity was detected in the katB mutant. However, the katA mutant displayed reduced resistance to hydrogen peroxide under iron limitation, while the katB mutant showed hypersensitivity to hydrogen peroxide, and reduced growth under all conditions tested. The katA mutant displayed reduced growth only in the presence of carbon sources that are metabolized through the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, as the growth defect was abrogated in cultures supplemented with glucose or glycerol. This phenotype was also correlated with a marked reduction in aconitase activity. In contrast, aconitase activity was not reduced in the katB mutant and parental strains. The authors conclude that the KatA protein is a specialized catalase/peroxidase that has a novel function by contributing to maintain the normal activity of the TCA cycle, while KatB is a classical catalase/peroxidase that plays a global role in cellular protection against oxidative stress.

'Grooming' and the Sexual Abuse of Children:Institutional, Internet and Familial Dimensions

‘Grooming’ and the Sexual Abuse of Children: Institutional, Internet and Familial Dimensions critically examines the official and popular discourses on grooming, predominantly framed within the context of on-line sexual exploitation and abuse committed by strangers, and institutional child abuse committed by those in positions of trust.

Set against the broader theoretical framework of risk, security and governance, this book argues that due to the difficulties of drawing clear boundaries between innocuous and harmful motivations towards children, pre-emptive risk-based criminal law and policy are inherently limited in preventing, targeting and criminalising ‘grooming’ behaviour prior to the manifestation of actual harm. Through examination of grooming against the complexities of the onset of sexual offending against children and its actual role in this process, the author broadens existing discourses by providing a fuller, more nuanced conceptualisation of grooming, including its role in intra-familial and extra-familial contexts. There is also timely discussion of new and emerging forms of grooming, such as ‘street’ or ‘localised’ grooming, as typified by recent cases in Rochdale and Oldham, and ‘peer-to-peer’ grooming.

The first inter-disciplinary, thematic, and empirical investigation of grooming in a multi-jurisdictional context, ‘Grooming’ and the Sexual Abuse of Children draws on extensive empirical research in the form of over fifty interviews with professionals, working in the fields of sex offender risk assessment, management or treatment, as well as child protection or victim support in the four jurisdictions of the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. Impeccably presented and meticulously considered, this book will be of interest to criminologists and those working and studying in the field of policing and criminal justice studies, as well as policy makers and practitioners in the areas of child protection and sex offender management.

Increase in rice grain arsenic for regions of Bangladesh irrigating paddies with elevated arsenic in groundwaters.

Concern has been raised by Bangladeshi and international scientists about elevated levels of arsenic in Bengali food, particularly in rice grain. This is the first inclusive food market-basket survey from Bangladesh, which addresses the speciation and concentration of arsenic in rice, vegetables, pulses, and spices. Three hundred thirty aman and boro rice, 94 vegetables, and 50 pulse and spice samples were analyzed for total arsenic, using inductivity coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The districts with the highest mean arsenic rice grain levels were all from southwestern Bangladesh:? Faridpur (boro) 0.51 > Satkhira (boro) 0.38 > Satkhira (aman) 0.36 > Chuadanga (boro) 0.32 > Meherpur (boro) 0.29 µg As g-1. The vast majority of food ingested arsenic in Bangladesh diets was found to be inorganic; with the predominant species detected in Bangladesh rice being arsenite (AsIII) or arsenate (AsV) with dimethyl arsinic acid (DMAV) being a minor component. Vegetables, pulses, and spices are less important to total arsenic intake than water and rice. Predicted inorganic arsenic intake from rice is modeled with the equivalent intake from drinking water for a typical Bangladesh diet. Daily consumption of rice with a total arsenic level of 0.08 µg As g-1 would be equivalent to a drinking water arsenic level of 10 µg L-1. Concern has been raised by Bangladeshi and international scientists about elevated levels of arsenic in Bengali food, particularly in rice grain. This is the first inclusive food market-basket survey from Bangladesh, which addresses the speciation and concentration of arsenic in rice, vegetables, pulses, and spices. Three hundred thirty aman and boro rice, 94 vegetables, and 50 pulse and spice samples were analyzed for total arsenic, using inductivity coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The districts with the highest mean arsenic rice grain levels were all from southwestern Bangladesh:? Faridpur (boro) 0.51 > Satkhira (boro) 0.38 > Satkhira (aman) 0.36 > Chuadanga (boro) 0.32 > Meherpur (boro) 0.29 µg As g-1. The vast majority of food ingested arsenic in Bangladesh diets was found to be inorganic; with the predominant species detected in Bangladesh rice being arsenite (AsIII) or arsenate (AsV) with dimethyl arsinic acid (DMAV) being a minor component. Vegetables, pulses, and spices are less important to total arsenic intake than water and rice. Predicted inorganic arsenic intake from rice is modeled with the equivalent intake from drinking water for a typical Bangladesh diet. Daily consumption of rice with a total arsenic level of 0.08 µg As g-1 would be equivalent to a drinking water arsenic level of 10 µg L-1.

The role of sexual steroids in the modulation of growth hormone (GH) secretion in humans

Sex steroids contribute to modulate GH secretion in man. However, both the exact locus and mechanism by which their actions are exerted still remain not clearly understood. We undertook a number of studies designed to ascertain: (1) whether or not sudden or chronic changes in circulating gonadal steroids may affect GH secretion in normal adults; and (2) the reason(s) for gender-related dimorphic pattern of GH release. The pituitary reserve of GH, as evaluated by means of a GHRH challenge, was similar in women with anorexia nervosa and in normally menstruating women. Estrogenic receptor blockade with tamoxifen (TMX) did not significantly change GHRH-induced GH response in these normal women. Therefore, acute or chronic hypoestrogenism apparently had no important effects at level of somatotrophs. In another group of normal women we tested the possibility that changes in circulating estrogens might induce changes in the hypothalamic-somatotroph rhythm (HSR). GHRH challenges were performed throughout a menstrual cycle, and again after having achieved functional ovarian blockade with a GnRH agonist treatment. Short-term ovarian blockade did not significantly affect the parameters of GH response to GHRH, although it was accompanied by an increase in the number of women ina refractory HSR phase at testing. This suggested a low potentiating effect on the basic pattern of somatostatin (SS) release occurring as a consequence of the decrease in circulating estrogens. In normal men, neither the GH response to GHRH nor the HSR were affected by functional testicular blockade (after GnRH agonist treatment). However, the administration of testosterone enanthate (250 mg) to another group of men increased both the GHRH-induced GH release and the number of subjects in a spontaneous secretory HSR phase at testing; these were reversed by estrogenic receptor blockade with TMS. In another group of normal men, the fraction of GH secreted in pulses (FGHP) during a nocturnal sampling period was significantly decreased by testicular blockade. Other parameters of GH secretion, such as the number of GH pulses and their mean amplitude (A), and the mean plasma GH concentration (MCGH), showed a slight, although not significant, decrease following the lack of androgens. The administration of testosterone enanthate (500 mg) reversed these parameters to values similar to those in the basal study. Interestingly, when tamoxifen was given after testosterone enanthate, A, MCGH and FGHP increased to values significantly higher than in any other experimental condition in that study. In all, these data suggest that 17ß-estradiol may participate in GH modulation by inhibiting the hypothalamic release of somatostatin, while testosterone stimulates it. The results obtained after estrogenic receptor blockade appear to indicate that the effect of testosterone in such a modulation is dependent on its aromatization to 17ß-estradiol. The differential levels of this steroid in both sexes might account for the sexual dimorphic pattern of GH secretion. From other data in the literature, obtained in rats, and our preliminary data in children with constitutional delay of growth and puberty, it is tempting to speculate that the effect of 17ß-estradiol may be exerted by modifying the functional activity of a-2 adrenergic pathways involved in the negative modulation of SS release.

Cognitive biases for trauma stimuli in people with schizophrenia

This study investigates whether cognitive biases related to trauma (physical and sexual trauma) are present in a sample of participants with a diagnosis of schizophrenia.

Thinking Sexual Difference Through the Law of Rape

2013 marks 10 years since the Sexual Offences Act 2003 was passed. That Act made significant changes to the law of rape which appear now to have made very little difference to reporting, prosecution or conviction rates. This article argues that the Act has failed against its own measures because it remains enmeshed within a conceptual framework of sexual indifference in which woman continues to be constructed as man’s (defective) other. This construction both constricts the frame in which women’s sexuality can be thought and distorts the harm of rape for women. It also continues woman’s historic alienation from her own nature and denies her entitlement to a becoming in line with her own sexuate identity. Using Luce Irigaray’s critical and constructive frameworks, the article seeks to imagine how law might ‘cognize’ sexual difference and thus take the preliminary steps to a juridical environment in which women can more adequately understand and articulate the harm of rape.

Sexual offences against children: An exploration of attrition in the Northern Ireland criminal justice system

Objective: This paper uses data provided by the Police Service for Northern Ireland (PSNI) to compare the characteristics and outcomes of reported sexual offences involving child and adult victims and explore the factors associated with case outcomes.
Method: PSNI provided data on 8,789 sexual offences recorded between April 2001 and March 2006. Case outcomes were based on whether a case was recorded by police as having sufficient evidence to summons, charge, or caution an offender (detected). Where an offender was summonsed, charged, or cautioned, this is classified as detection with a formal sanction. A case can also be classified as "detected" without a formal sanction. The analysis focused on two key categories of detection without formal sanction: cases in which the police deem there to be sufficient evidence to charge an offender but took no further action because the victim did not wish to prosecute, or because the police or the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) decided that no useful purpose would be served by proceeding.
Results: The analysis confirmed that the characteristics of recorded sexual offences involving adult and child victims vary significantly according to gender, offence type, the timing of report and victim-offender relationship. Almost half of child sex abuse cases are not detected by police and a quarter do not proceed through the criminal justice system because either the victim declines to prosecute or the Police/PPS decide not to proceed. Only one in five child cases involved detection with a formal sanction. Child groups with lower detection with formal sanction rates included children under 5, teenagers, those who do not report when the abuse occurs but disclose at a later date; and those who experience abuse at the hands of peers and adults known to them but not related. The analysis also highlighted variation in formal sanction rates depending on where the offence was reported.
Conclusions: Consideration needs to be given to improving the criminal justice response to specific child groups as well as monitoring detection rates in different police areas in order to address potential practice variation.
Practice implications: Consideration needs to be given to improving the professional response in relation to with particularly lower detection with formal sanction rates. There is also a need to monitor case outcomes to ensure that child victims in different areas receive a similar service.

In Demand: Therapeutic Services for Children and Young People Who Have Experienced Sexual Abuse

This paper describes the key findings of an NSPCC study estimating need, in the UK, for therapeutic services for children who have experienced sexual abuse. This is based upon current estimates of the prevalence and impact of sexual abuse towards children and young people against the availability of therapeutic services in the UK. Data were collected on service location, availability, scope and coverage across England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland. Researchers: (1) mapped 508 services; (2) collected data from 195 services via a structured questionnaire; (3) followed up 21 service managers and 11 service commissioners with a semi-structured interview; and (4) carried out two focus groups with young people. Data were collected on service location, availability, scope and coverage The overall level of specialist provision is low, with less than one service available per 10 000 children and young people in the UK. Calculations of need indicate that 57 156 children across the UK in the last year may have been unable to access a service. Findings from services support the view that need outstrips availability; that referral routes are limited, leaving few options for young people who have been raped or seriously sexually assaulted to directly access support; that significant waiting lists mean services must focus on reactive, rather than preventive, work; and that services are less accessible for certain groups, especially sexually abused teenagers, children with disabilities and those from Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic and Refugee backgrounds. Copyright (c) 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Key Practitioner Messages Relevant professionals must be adequately trained to talk to children about sexual abuse and to identify those vulnerable in order to identify need. Expert specialist services are well placed to share learning on early help and identification with broader children's service providers. Active steps need to be taken by commissioners in consultation with young people, voluntary sector and adult sexual violence service providers to meet the shortfall at the level of local authorities.

'Grooming' and the Sexual Abuse of Children: Implications for Sex Offender Assessment, Treatment and Management

'Grooming' has been termed 'a ubiquitous feature of the sexual abuse of children' (Thornton, 2003: 144). Despite the prominence of the term in contemporary discourses on sexual offending against children, it is a term that is insufficiently understood in the psychological, sociological, criminological or legal literature. Most recently, the term has been used in two primary offending contexts - on-line grooming and abuse by strangers, and institutional grooming and abuse by those in positions of trust. This article argues, however, that grooming and its role in child sexual abuse is a multi-faceted phenomenon and much more complex than has been highlighted previously. While there are a number of typologies of grooming, this article concentrates on those which may be most relevant for treatment and management contexts - 'peer-to-peer grooming' and 'institutional grooming.' Drawing on extensive fieldwork with professionals who work in the fields of child protection or victim support, and sex offender assessment, treatment or management across the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, the aim of this article is two-fold: (i) to deconstruct the term grooming and examine its actual role in the onset of sexual offending against children; and (ii) to draw out the implications of these complexities for policy and practice, chiefly in terms of treatment and prevention.

The Analogical Peacock Hypothesis: The Sexual Selection of Mind-Reading and Relational Cognition in Human Communication

This integrative review presents a novel hypothesis as a basis for integrating two evolutionary viewpoints on the origins of human cognition and communication, the sexual selection of human mental capacities, and the social brain hypothesis. This new account suggests that mind-reading social skills increased reproductive success and consequently became targets for sexual selection. The hypothesis proposes that human communication has three purposes: displaying mind-reading abilities, aligning and maintaining representational parity between individuals to enable displays, and the exchange of propositional information. Intelligence, creativity, language, and humor are mental fitness indicators that signal an individual’s quality to potential mates, rivals, and allies. Five features central to the proposed display mechanism unify these indicators, the relational combination of concepts, large conceptual knowledge networks, processing speed, contextualization, and receiver knowledge. Sufficient between-mind alignment of conceptual networks allows displays based upon within-mind conceptual mappings. Creative displays communicate previously unnoticed relational connections and novel conceptual combinations demonstrating an ability to read a receiver’s mind. Displays are costly signals of mate quality with costs incurred in the developmental production of the neural apparatus required to engage in complex displays and opportunity costs incurred through time spent acquiring cultural knowledge. Displays that are fast, novel, spontaneous, contextual, topical, and relevant are hard-to-fake for lower quality individuals. Successful displays result in elevated social status and increased mating options. The review addresses literatures on costly signaling, sexual selection, mental fitness indicators, and the social brain hypothesis; drawing implications for nonverbal and verbal communication.