Species and regional variations in the effectiveness of antivenom against the in Vitro neurotoxicity of death adder (Acanthophis) venoms

Although viperlike in appearance and habit, death adders belong to the Elapidae family of snakes. Systemic envenomation represents a serious medical problem with antivenom, which is raised against Acanthophis antarcticus venom, representing the primary treatment. This study focused on the major Acanthophis variants from Australia and islands in the Indo-Pacific region. Venoms were profiled using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, and analyzed for in vitro neurotoxicity (0.3-10 mug/ml), as well as the effectiveness of antivenom. (1-5 units/ml; 10 min prior to the addition of 10 mug/ml venom). The following death adder venoms were examined: A. antarcticus (from separate populations in New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, and Western Australia), A. hawkei, A. praelongus, A. pyrrhus, A. rugosus, A. wellsi, and venom from an unnamed species from the Indonesian island of Seram. All venoms abolished indirect twitches of the chick isolated biventer cervicis nerve-muscle preparation in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, all venoms blocked responses to exogenous acetylcholine (1 m-M) and carbachol (20 muM), but not KCl (40 mM), suggesting postsynaptic neurotoxicity. Death adder antivenom (1 unit/ml) prevented the neurotoxic effects of A. pyrrhus, A. praelongus, and A. hawkei venoms, although it was markedly less effective against venoms from A. antarcticus (NSW, SA, WA), A. rugosus, A. wellsi, and A. sp. Scram. However, at 5 units/ml, antivenom was effective against all venoms tested. Death adder venoms, including those from A. antarcticus geographic variants, differed not only in their venom composition but also in their neurotoxic activity and susceptibility to antivenom. For the first time toxicological aspects of A. hawkei, A. wellsi, A. rugosus, and A. sp. Seram venoms were studied. (C) 2001 Academic Press.

Social cognition, language acquisition and the development of the theory of mind

Theory of Mind (ToM) is the cognitive achievement that enables us to report our propositional attitudes, to attribute such attitudes to others, and to use such postulated or observed mental states in the prediction and explanation of behavior. Most normally developing children acquire ToM between the ages of 3 and 5 years, but serious delays beyond this chronological and mental age have been observed in children with autism, as well is in those with severe sensory impairments. We examine data from Studies of ToM in normally developing children and those with deafness, blindness, autism and Williams syndrome, as well as data from lower primates, in a search for answers to key theoretical questions concerning the origins, nature and representation of knowledge about the mind. In answer to these, we offer a framework according to which ToM is jointly dependent upon language and social experience, and is produced by a conjunction of language acquisition with children's growing social understanding, acquired through conversation and interaction with others. We argue that adequate language and adequate social skills are jointly causally sufficient, and individually causally necessary, for producing ToM. Thus our account supports a social developmental theory of the genesis of human cognition, inspired by the work of Sellars and Vygotsky.

Rate and timing of vegetative growth, flowering and fruit development of Persoonia virgata (Proteaceae)

Persoonia virgata R. Br. is harvested from the wild in both its vegetative and flowering stages. There has been no systematic study published on the annual growth cycle and anecdotal reports are conflicting. The growth pattern, flowering and fruit development of P. virgata in its natural habitat was recorded monthly for two consecutive years. The main growth period occurred in late spring-mid-autumn (November-May) when the shrubs were producing little or no fruit. Very few open flowers were observed at the site over the 2 years, with only 6.7 and 12.7% of stems bearing open flowers in January and February 1996, respectively. A second study of flowering on container-grown shrubs showed that individual flowers were open for only 2-5 days, with individual stems taking 3-8.5 weeks to complete flowering. The main fruit growth period occurred from May to September, and in June and July 1996 the total fruit set per stem was 41.6 and 36.1%, respectively. The fruit took at least 6 months to develop during which vegetative growth was minimal. The harvesting of plants in the flowering or fruiting stages removes the annual seed crop, which may reduce regeneration of this obligate seed regenerator and threaten its survival after fire.

State Banks and Economic Development in China

State-owned banks remain dominant in China's financial sector despite over two decades of gradual financial liberalization. Their performance is typically evaluated using commercial banking criteria. The standard view is that because state banks have experienced declining profitability and capital adequacy, they have been a drain on past economic development and endanger future growth prospects. However, we argue that state banks have strong development bank characteristics and hence warrant different performance criteria. The analysis in this paper suggests that while thier commercial performance may have been poor, the overall impact of state banks on China's economic development appears to have been both positive and sustainable. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The Winnipeg principles, WTO and sustainable development: Proposed policies for reconciling trade and the environment

There is, a widespread belief that the WTO has made virtually no concessions to environmentalists about their concerns arising from free trade and the process of globalization. There are concerns that these processes may undermine prospects for sustainable development. Following, the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, the International Institute for Sustainable Development was established to advocate policies to support sustainable development within Canada and globally. In 1994, it proposed the Winnipeg Principles as. a means for reconciling international trade and development so as to: achieve sustainable development (ISD, 1994a,b). These seven principles are outlined in this article and assessed:. Although the International Institute for Sustainable Development had hoped: through these principles to influence the work programme of the Environment and Trade Committee of WTO, it seems to have little effect. Probably if these principles had been seriously considered by WTO, the serious social conflicts which emerged globally at the beginning of this century would have been avoided, and we would be in a better position to understand the complex links between trade, environment and sustainable development and adopt relevant policies. Copyright (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

Childhood neglect and cognitive development in extremely low birth weight infants: A prospective study

Objective. To examine the relationship between child maltreatment and cognitive development in extremely low birth weight infants, adjusting for perinatal and parental risk factors. Methods. A total of 352 infants with birth weight of

Significance of serum early pregnancy factor concentrations during pregnancy and embryonic development in Sminthopsis macroura (Spencer) (Marsupialia : Dasyuridae)

Marsupial pregnancy differs from that in eutherians in duration, placentation and hormonal profile so much so that maternal recognition of pregnancy may not occur in polyovular marsupials. However, a comparison of gravid and non-gravid uteri reveals differences indicative of histological and physiological adaptations to pregnancy. In the present study, the hypothesis that embryo-maternal signalling occurs in polyovular marsupials was tested by examining serum from non-pregnant and pregnant Sminthopsis macroura for the presence of early pregnancy factor (EPF), a serum protein secreted by the ovary in response to the presence of a newly fertilized egg in the oviduct. EPF is detectable in the serum of pregnant, but not in non-pregnant, females in all eutherians studied to date. In the present study, EPF was detected in S. macroura serum by the rosette inhibition test during the first 9 days of the 10.7 day gestation period in this marsupial. However, EPF was not detected on day 10, just before parturition, or in non-pregnant or preovulatory animals. Immunohistochemical analysis of ovaries from gravid and non-gravid animals demonstrates that EPF is found in the capillaries, interstitial spaces and secretory cells of the corpus luteum. It is concluded that the spatiotemporal pattern of EPF activity described strongly indicates that maternal recognition of pregnancy in marsupials is mediated, at least in part, by EPF. Because the endocrinological milieu is the same in pregnant and non-pregnant marsupials, the possibility of using marsupials as an experimental system for studying EPF function unconfounded by hormonal effects is presented.

Population health, environment and economic development

This paper studies the role of income distribution and technology transfer in the process of economic development. A novel aspect of the model is that the composition of human capital as well as the level affect economic growth. Utilizing an overlapping-generations model in which income distribution changes endogenously, we present an economic explanation for why some countries could not start modern economic growth; why some countries took off but have apparently stopped growing after some time; and why some countries have successfully developed and continue to grow

Detection of the initial infective stages of the protozoan parasite Marteilia sydneyi in Saccostrea glomerata and their development through to sporogenesis

DNA probes were used in in situ hybridisation on histological sections of oysters exposed for defined intervals to Marteilia sydneyi infection to reveal the early development of the parasite in the oyster host, Saccostrea glomerata. The initial infective stages enter through the palps and gills whereupon extrasporogonic proliferation results in the liberation of cells into surrounding connective tissue and haemolymph spaces. Following systemic dissemination, the parasite infiltrates the digestive gland and becomes established as a nurse cell beneath the epithelial cells ill a digestive tubule. Here, cell-within-cell proliferation results in the eventual liberation of daughter cells from the nurse cell into spaces between adjacent epithelial cells. None of these stages had previously been described. Proliferation is associated with host responses, including haemocytic infiltration of the connective tissue and diapedesis across tubule epithelia. The responses cease as sporogenesis begins. (C) 2002 Australian Society for Parasitology Inc. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Estimates of global and regional potential health gains from reducing multiple major risk factors

Background Estimates of the disease burden due to multiple risk factors can show the potential gain from combined preventive measures. But few such investigations have been attempted, and none on a global scale. Our aim was to estimate the potential health benefits from removal of multiple major risk factors. Methods We assessed the burden of disease and injury attributable to the joint effects of 20 selected leading risk factors in 14 epidemiological subregions of the world. We estimated population attributable fractions, defined as the proportional reduction in disease or mortality that would occur if exposure to a risk factor were reduced to an alternative level, from data for risk factor prevalence and hazard size. For every disease, we estimated joint population attributable fractions, for multiple risk factors, by age and sex, from the direct contributions of individual risk factors. To obtain the direct hazards, we reviewed publications and re-analysed cohort data to account for that part of hazard that is mediated through other risks. Results Globally, an estimated 47% of premature deaths and 39% of total disease burden in 2000 resulted from the joint effects of the risk factors considered. These risks caused a substantial proportion of important diseases, including diarrhoea (92%-94%), lower respiratory infections (55-62%), lung cancer (72%), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (60%), ischaemic heart disease (83-89%), and stroke (70-76%). Removal of these risks would have increased global healthy life expectancy by 9.3 years (17%) ranging from 4.4 years (6%) in the developed countries of the western Pacific to 16.1 years (43%) in parts of sub-Saharan Africa. Interpretation Removal of major risk factors would not only increase healthy life expectancy in every region, but also reduce some of the differences between regions, The potential for disease prevention and health gain from tackling major known risks simultaneously would be substantial.

Sport-specific practice and the development of expert decision-making in team ball sports

The role of sport-specific practice in the development of decision-making expertise in the sports of field hockey, netball, and basketball was examined. Fifteen expert decision-makers and 13 experienced non-expert athletes provided detailed information about the quantity and type of sport-specific and other related practice activities they had undertaken throughout their careers. Experts accumulated more hours of sport-specific practice from age 12 years onwards than did non-experts, spending on average some 13 years and 4,000 hours on concentrated sport-specific practice before reaching international standard. A significant negative correlation existed between the number of additional activities undertaken and the hours of sportspecific training required before attaining expertise, suggesting a functional role for activities other than sport-specific training in the development of expert decision-making.

Measuring the accumulated hazards of smoking: global and regional estimates for 2000

Objective: Current prevalence of smoking, even where data are available, is a poor proxy for cumulative hazards of smoking, which depend on several factors including the age at which smoking began, duration of smoking, number of cigarettes smoked per day, degree of inhalation, and cigarette characteristics such as tar and nicotine content or filter type. Methods: We extended the Peto-Lopez smoking impact ratio method to estimate accumulated hazards of smoking for different regions of the world. Lung cancer mortality data were obtained from the Global Burden of Disease mortality database. The American Cancer Society Cancer Prevention Study, phase 11 (CPS-II) with follow up for the years 1982 to 1988 was the reference population. For the global application of the method, never-smoker lung cancer mortality rates were chosen based on the estimated use of coal for household energy in each region. Results: Men in industrialised countries of Europe, North America, and the Western Pacific had the largest accumulated hazards of smoking. Young and middle age males in many regions of the developing world also had large smoking risks. The accumulated hazards of smoking for women were highest in North America followed by Europe. Conclusions: In the absence of detailed data on smoking prevalence and history, lung cancer mortality provides a robust indicator of the accumulated hazards of smoking. These hazards in developing countries are currently more concentrated among young and middle aged males.