Phobic anxiety in 11 nations: Part I: Dimensional constancy of the five-factor model

The Fear Survey Schedule-III (FSS-III) was administered to a total of 5491 students in Australia, East Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Guatemala, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Spain, Sweden, and Venezuela, and submitted to the multiple group method of confirmatory analysis (MGM) in order to determine the cross-national dimensional constancy of the five-factor model of self-assessed fears originally established in Dutch, British, and Canadian samples. The model comprises fears of bodily injury-illness-death, agoraphobic fears, social fears, fears of sexual and aggressive scenes, and harmless animals fears. Close correspondence between the factors was demonstrated across national samples. In each country, the corresponding scales were internally consistent, were intercorrelated at magnitudes comparable to those yielded in the original samples, and yielded (in 93% of the total number of 55 comparisons) sex differences in line with the usual finding (higher scores for females). In each country, the relatively largest sex differences were obtained on harmless animals fears. The organization of self-assessed fears is sufficiently similar across nations to warrant the use of the same weight matrix (scoring key) for the FSS-III in the different countries and to make cross-national comparisons feasible. This opens the way to further studies that attempt to predict (on an a priori basis) cross-national variations in fear levels with dimensions of national cultures. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

FRAP analysis of nucleocytoplasmic dynamics of the vitamin D receptor splice variant VDRB1: preferential targeting to nuclear speckles

Although the key components of the cellular nuclear transport machinery have largely been characterized through extensive efforts in recent years, in vivo measurements of the kinetics of nuclear protein import/export are patently few. The present study applies the approach of FRAP (fluorescence recovery after photobleaching) to examine the nucleocytoplasmic flux of a novel human VDRB1 (vitamin D receptor B I) isoform in living cells. Through an N-terminal extension containing a consensus nuclear targeting sequence, VDRB1 is capable of localizing in nuclear speckles adjacent to SC-35 (35 kDa splicing component)containing speckles as well as in the nucleoplasm, dependent on ligand. Investigation of VDRB1 nucleocytoplasmic transport using FRAP indicates for the first time that the VDRB1 has a serum-modulated, active nuclear-import mechanism. There is no evidence of an efficient, active export mechanism for VDRB1, probably as a result of nuclear retention. VDRB1 nuclear import in the absence of serum occurred more rapidly and to a greater extent to nuclear speckles compared with import to other nuclear sites. This preferential transport from the cytoplasm to and accumulation within nuclear speckles is consistent with the idea that the latter represent dynamic centres of VDRB1 interaction with other nuclear proteins. The results are consistent with the existence of specialized pathways to target proteins to nuclear subdomains.

Homologues of the maize rust resistance gene Rp1-D are genetically associated with a major rust resistance QTL in sorghum

As part of a comparative mapping study between sugarcane and sorghum, a sugarcane cDNA clone with homology to the maize Rp1-D rust resistance gene was mapped in sorghum. The cDNA probe hybridised to multiple loci, including one on sorghum linkage group (LG) E in a region where a major rust resistance QTL had been previously mapped. Partial sorghum Rp1-D homologues were isolated from genomic DNA of rust-resistant and -susceptible progeny selected from a sorghum mapping population. Sequencing of the Rp1-D homologues revealed five discrete sequence classes: three from resistant progeny and two from susceptible progeny. PCR primers specific to each sequence class were used to amplify products from the progeny and confirmed that the five sequence classes mapped to the same locus on LG E. Cluster analysis of these sorghum sequences and available sugarcane, maize and sorghum Rp1-D homologue sequences showed that the maize Rp1-D sequence and the partial sugarcane Rp1-D homologue were clustered with one of the sorghum resistant progeny sequence classes, while previously published sorghum Rp1-D homologue sequences clustered with the susceptible progeny sequence classes. Full-length sequence information was obtained for one member of a resistant progeny sequence class (Rp1-SO) and compared with the maize Rp1-D sequence and a previously identified sorghum Rp1 homologue (Rph1-2). There was considerable similarity between the two sorghum sequences and less similarity between the sorghum and maize sequences. These results suggest a conservation of function and gene sequence homology at the Rp1 loci of maize and sorghum and provide a basis for convenient PCR-based screening tools for putative rust resistance alleles in sorghum.

Mitochondrial control region diversity of the houbara bustard Chlamydotis undulata complex and genetic structure along the Atlantic seaboard of North Africa

The houbara bustard, Chlamydotis undulata, is a declining cryptic desert bird whose range extends from North Africa to Central Asia. Three subspecies are currently recognized by geographical distribution and morphology: C.u.fuertaventurae, C.u.undulata and C.u.macqueenii. We have sequenced 854 bp of mitochondrial control region from 73 birds to describe their population genetic structure with a particular sampling focus on the connectivity between C.u.fuertaventurae and C.u.undulata along the Atlantic seaboard of North Africa. Nucleotide and haplotypic diversity varied among the subspecies being highest in C.u.undulata, lowest in C.u.fuertaventurae and intermediate in C.u.macqueenii. C.u.fuertaventurae and C.u.undulata are paraphyletic and an average nucleotide divergence of 2.08% splits the later from C.u.macqueenii. We estimate that C.u.fuertaventurae and C.u.undulata split from C.u.macqueenii approximately 430 000 years ago. C.u.fuertaventurae and C.u.undulata are weakly differentiated (F-ST = 0.27, N-m = 1.3), indicative of a recent shared history. Archaeological evidence indicates that houbara bustards have been present on the Canary Islands for 130-170 000 years. However, our genetic data point to a more recent separation of C.u.fuertaventurae and C.u.undulata at around 20-25 000 years. Concordant archaeological, climatic opportunities for colonization and genetic data point to a scenario of: (i) initial colonization of the Canary Islands about 130 000 years ago; (ii) a period of secondary contact 19-30 000 years ago homogenizing any pre-existing genetic structure followed by; (iii) a period of relative isolation that persists today.

Implications of non-response of older women to a short form of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale

The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) is frequently used in epidemiological surveys to screen for depression, especially among older adults. This article addresses the problem of non-completion of a short form of the CES-D (CESD-10) in a mailed survey of 73- to 78-year-old women enrolled in the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health. Completers of the CESD-10 had more education, found it easier to manage on available income and reported better physical and mental health. The Medical Outcomes Study Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) scores for non-completers were intermediate between those for women classified as depressed and not depressed using the CESD-10. Indicators of depression had an inverted U-shaped relationship with the number of missing CESD- 10 items and were most frequent for women with two to seven items missing. Future research should pay particular attention to the level of missing data in depression scales and report its potential impact on estimates of depression.

Experimental and theoretical investigation of the structural, chemical, electronic, and high frequency dielectric properties of barium cadmium tantalate-based ceramics

Single-phase Ba(Cd1/3Ta2/3)O-3 powder was produced using conventional solid state reaction methods. Ba(Cd1/3Ta2/3)O-3 ceramics with 2 wt % ZnO as sintering additive sintered at 1550 degreesC exhibited a dielectric constant of similar to32 and loss tangent of 5x10(-5) at 2 GHz. X-ray diffraction and thermogravimetric measurements were used to characterize the structural and thermodynamic properties of the material. Ab initio electronic structure calculations were used to give insight into the unusual properties of Ba(Cd1/3Ta2/3)O-3, as well as a similar and more widely used material Ba(Zn1/3Ta2/3)O-3. While both compounds have a hexagonal Bravais lattice, the P321 space group of Ba(Cd1/3Ta2/3)O-3 is reduced from P (3) under bar m1 of Ba(Zn1/3Ta2/3)O-3 as a result of a distortion of oxygen away from the symmetric position between the Ta and Cd ions. Both of the compounds have a conduction band minimum and valence band maximum composed of mostly weakly itinerant Ta 5d and Zn 3d/Cd 4d levels, respectively. The covalent nature of the directional d-electron bonding in these high-Z oxides plays an important role in producing a more rigid lattice with higher melting points and enhanced phonon energies, and is suggested to play an important role in producing materials with a high dielectric constant and low microwave loss. (C) 2005 American Institute of Physics.

The status of hollow-bearing trees required for the conservation of arboreal marsupials in the dry sclerophyll forests of south-east Queensland, Australia

At 38 sites in the dry sclerophyll forests of south-east Queensland, Australia, hollow-bearing trees were studied to determine the effects of past forestry practices on their density, size and spatial distribution. The density of hollow-bearing trees was reduced at sites that had been altered by poisoning and ringbarking of unmerchantable trees. This was especially the case for living hollow-bearing trees that were now at densities too low to support the full range of arboreal marsupials. Although there are presently enough hollow-bearing stags (i.e., dead hollow-bearing trees) to provide additional denning and nesting opportunities, the standing life of these hollow-bearing stags is lower than the living counterparts which means denning and nesting sites may be limited in the near future. The mean diameter at breast height (DBH) of hollow-bearing stags was significantly less than that of living hollow-bearing trees. This indicated that many large hollow-bearing stags may have a shorter standing life than smaller hollow-bearing stags. Hollow-bearing trees appear to be randomly distributed throughout the forest in both silviculturally treated and untreated areas. This finding is at odds with the suggestion by some forest managers that hollow-bearing trees should have a clumped distribution in dry sclerophyll forests of south-east Queensland.

Contribution of the collagen I alpha 1 and vitamin D receptor genes to the risk of hip fracture in elderly women

Context and Objective: Hip fracture is partially genetically determined. The present study was designed to examine the contributions of vitamin D receptor (VDR) and collagen I alpha 1 (COLIA1) genotypes to the liability to hip fracture in postmenopausal women. Design: The study was designed as a prospective population-based cohort investigation. Subjects: Six hundred seventy-seven postmenopausal women of Caucasian background, aged 70 +/- 7 yr (mean +/- SD), have been followed for up to 14 yr. Sixty-nine women had sustained a hip fracture during the period. Main Outcome: Atraumatic hip fractures were prospectively identified through radiologists' reports. Bone mineral density (BMD) at the hip and lumbar spine was measured by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry. Genotypes: The TaqI and SpI COLIA1 polymorphisms of the VDR and COLIA1 genes were determined. Using the Single Nucleotide Polymorphism database, VDR TT, Tt, and tt genotypes were coded as TT, TC, and CC, whereas COLIA1 SS, Ss, and ss were coded as GG, GT, and TT. Results: Women with VDR CC genotype (16% prevalence) and COLIA1 TT genotype (5% prevalence) had an increased risk of hip fracture [odds ratio (OR) associated with CC, 2.6; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.2-5.3; OR associated with TT, 3.8; 95% CI, 1.3-10.8] after adjustment for femoral neck BMD (OR, 3.4 per SD; 95% CI, 2.3-5.0) and age (OR, 1.4 per 5 yr; 95% CI, 1.1-1.7). Approximately 20 and 12% of the liability to hip fracture was attributable to the presence of the CC genotype and TT genotype, respectively. Conclusion: The VDR CC genotype and COLIA1 TT genotype were associated with increased hip fracture risk in Caucasian women, and this association was independent of BMD and age.