Male dominance linked to size and age, but not to 'good genes' in brown trout (Salmo trutta).

BACKGROUND: Males that are successful in intra-sexual competition are often assumed to be of superior quality. In the mating system of most salmonid species, intensive dominance fights are common and the winners monopolise most mates and sire most offspring. We drew a random sample of mature male brown trout (Salmo trutta) from two wild populations and determined their dominance hierarchy or traits linked to dominance. The fish were then stripped and their sperm was used for in vitro fertilisations in two full-factorial breeding designs. We recorded embryo viability until hatching in both experiments, and juvenile survival during 20 months after release into a natural streamlet in the second experiment. Since offspring of brown trout get only genes from their fathers, we used offspring survival as a quality measure to test (i) whether males differ in their genetic quality, and if so, (ii) whether dominance or traits linked to dominance reveal 'good genes'. RESULTS: We found significant additive genetic variance on embryo survival, i.e. males differed in their genetic quality. Older, heavier and larger males were more successful in intra-sexual selection. However, neither dominance nor dominance indicators like body length, weight or age were significantly linked to genetic quality measured as embryo or juvenile survival. CONCLUSION: We found no evidence that females can improve their offspring's genetic viability by mating with large and dominant males. If there still were advantages of mating with dominant males, they may be linked to non-genetic benefits or to genetic advantages that are context dependent and therefore possibly not revealed under our experimental conditions - even if we found significant additive genetic variation for embryo viability under such conditions.

Administering brief motivational interventions to young men: Results from a pilot census transmissible study among 19 year-old francophone Swiss men.

AIMS - To pilot the implementation of brief motivational intervention (BMI) among conscripts, and to test the effectiveness of BMI in young men voluntarily showing up for a single face-to-face alcohol BMI session. Participants were conscripts attending the army recruitment process in Lausanne. This process is mandatory for all Swiss males at age 19 and Lausanne serves all francophone Swiss men. METHODS - Of 3'227 young men that were seen during the army recruitment procedures, 445 voluntarily showed up for a BMI and 367 were included in the study (exclusions were random and unsystematic and related to organizational aspects in the recruitment center). After an initial assessment, subjects were randomized into two groups: an immediate BMI and a 6-month delayed BMI (waiting list design). A 6-month follow-up assessment was conducted in both groups. BMI was a face-to-face 20 minutes counseling session with a psychologist trained in motivational interviewing at baseline and a telephone session for the control group at follow-up. Strategies of BMI included the exploration and evocation of a possible behavior change, importance of future change, readiness to change, and commitment to change. A filmed example of such an intervention is available in French at www.alcoologie.ch. RESULTS - All procedures are now fully implemented and working and the provision of preventive efforts found general approval by the army. 3'227 were eligible for BMI and 445 of them (13.8%) showed up for receiving a BMI. 367 were included in the study, 181 in the BMI group and 186 in the control group. More than 86% of those included were reached at follow-up. With one exception all findings on alcohol use went in the expected direction, i.e. a stronger decrease in alcohol use (or a smaller increase as for usual weekly drinking amount) in the BMI group. The risk for risky single occasion drinking (RSOD) decreased from 57% at-risk users at baseline to 50.6%, i.e. a 6.4% point decrease in the BMI group, while there was only a 0.6% point decrease (from 57.5% to 56.9%) in the control group. Moreover, the study showed that there was a likelihood of crossover effects for other substances like tobacco smoking and cannabis use. Despite these encouraging and consistent positive findings, none reached significance at conventional levels (p < 0.05). DISCUSSION - Data suggest a beneficial impact of BMI on alcohol use outcomes and potential effect on other substance use in 19-year old men attending the army recruitment and showing up voluntarily for BMI. As the main aim was to implement and test feasibility of conducting BMI in this setting none of our findings reached statistical significance. The consistency of findings across measures and substances, however, raises hope that non-significance in the present study does not mean no effect, but mainly insufficient power of this pilot study. [Authors]

Predicting the impacts of climate change on genetic diversity in an endangered lizard species.

Many endangered species persist as a series of isolated populations, with some populations more genetically diverse than others. If climate change disproportionately threatens the most diverse populations, the species' ability to adapt (and hence its long-term viability) may be affected more severely than would be apparent by its numerical reduction. In the present study, we combine genetic data with modelling of species distributions under climate change to document this situation in an endangered lizard (Eulamprus leuraensis) from montane southeastern Australia. The species is known from only about 40 isolated swamps. Genetic diversity of lizard populations is greater in some sites than others, presumably reflecting consistently high habitat suitability over evolutionary time. Species distribution modelling suggests that the most genetically diverse populations are the ones most at risk from climate change, so that global warming will erode the species' genetic variability faster than it curtails the species' geographic distribution.

Two alternate mechanisms contribute to the persistence of interdependent lineages in Pogonomyrmex harvester ants.

Some populations of Pogonomyrmex harvester ants comprise pairs of highly differentiated lineages with queens mating at random with several males of their own and of the alternate lineage. These queens produce two types of diploid offspring, those fertilized by males of the queens' lineage which develop into new queens and those fertilized by males of the other lineage which mostly develop into functionally sterile workers. This unusual mode of genetic caste determination has been found in 26 populations and a total of four lineage pairs (F(1)-F(2), G(1)-G(2), H(1)-H(2) and J(1)-J(2)) have been described in these populations. Despite the fact that a few interlineage queens are produced, previous studies revealed that there is a complete lack of genetic introgression between lineages. Here we quantify the proportion of interlineage queens produced in each of the four lineage pairs and determine the fate of these queens. In the F(1)-F(2), G(1)-G(2) and H(1)-H(2) lineage pairs, interlineage queens were produced by a minority of colonies. These colonies exclusively produced interlineage queens and workers, suggesting that interlineage eggs can develop into queens in these three pairs of lineages in the absence of competition with pure-lineage brood. An analysis of three key stages of the colony life cycle revealed that colonies headed by interlineage queens failed to grow sufficiently to produce reproductive individuals. In laboratory comparisons, interlineage queens produced fewer viable eggs, with the effect that they raised fewer workers and lost more weight per worker produced than pure-lineage queens. In the J(1)-J(2) lineage pair, we did not find a single interlineage queen, raising the possibility that interlineage eggs have completely lost the ability to develop into queens in this lineage pair. Hence, two distinct mechanisms seem to account for the complete lack of between-lineage gene flow in the F(1)-F(2), G(1)-G(2), H(1)-H(2) and J(1)-J(2) lineage pairs.

Measuring the diffusion of palliative care in long-term care facilities - a death census

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: The dissemination of palliative care for patients presenting complex chronic diseases at various stages has become an important matter of public health. A death census in Swiss long-term care facilities (LTC) was set up with the aim of monitoring the frequency of selected indicators of palliative care. METHODS: The survey covered 150 LTC facilities (105 nursing homes and 45 home health services), each of which was asked to complete a questionnaire for every non-accidental death over a period of six months. The frequency of 4 selected indicators of palliative care (resort to a specialized palliative care service, the administration of opiates, use of any pain measurement scale or other symptom measurement scale) was monitored in respect of the stages of care and analysed based on gender, age, medical condition and place of residence. RESULTS: Overall, 1200 deaths were reported, 29.1% of which were related to cancer. The frequencies of each indicator varied according to the type of LTC, mostly regarding the administration of opiate. It appeared that the access to palliative care remained associated with cancer, terminal care and partly with age, whereas gender and the presence of mental disorders had no effect on the indicators. In addition, the use of drugs was much more frequent than the other indicators. CONCLUSION: The profile of patients with access to palliative care must become more diversified. Among other recommendations, equal access to opiates in nursing homes and in home health services, palliative care at an earlier stage and the systematic use of symptom management scales when resorting to opiates have to become of prime concern.

In vivo conditional Pax4 overexpression in mature islet β-cells prevents stress-induced hyperglycemia in mice.

OBJECTIVE To establish the role of the transcription factor Pax4 in pancreatic islet expansion and survival in response to physiological stress and its impact on glucose metabolism, we generated transgenic mice conditionally and selectively overexpressing Pax4 or a diabetes-linked mutant variant (Pax4R129 W) in β-cells. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Glucose homeostasis and β-cell death and proliferation were assessed in Pax4- or Pax4R129 W-overexpressing transgenic animals challenged with or without streptozotocin. Isolated transgenic islets were also exposed to cytokines, and apoptosis was evaluated by DNA fragmentation or cytochrome C release. The expression profiles of proliferation and apoptotic genes and β-cell markers were studied by immunohistochemistry and quantitative RT-PCR. RESULTS Pax4 but not Pax4R129 W protected animals against streptozotocin-induced hyperglycemia and isolated islets from cytokine-mediated β-cell apoptosis. Cytochrome C release was abrogated in Pax4 islets treated with cytokines. Interleukin-1β transcript levels were suppressed in Pax4 islets, whereas they were increased along with NOS2 in Pax4R129 W islets. Bcl-2, Cdk4, and c-myc expression levels were increased in Pax4 islets while MafA, insulin, and GLUT2 transcript levels were suppressed in both animal models. Long-term Pax4 expression promoted proliferation of a Pdx1-positive cell subpopulation while impeding insulin secretion. Suppression of Pax4 rescued this defect with a concomitant increase in pancreatic insulin content. CONCLUSIONS Pax4 protects adult islets from stress-induced apoptosis by suppressing selective nuclear factor-κB target genes while increasing Bcl-2 levels. Furthermore, it promotes dedifferentiation and proliferation of β-cells through MafA repression, with a concomitant increase in Cdk4 and c-myc expression.

How family caregivers' medical and moral assumptions influence decision making for patients in the vegetative state: a qualitative interview study.

Background Decisions on limiting life-sustaining treatment for patients in the vegetative state (VS) are emotionally and morally challenging. In Germany, doctors have to discuss, together with the legal surrogate (often a family member), whether the proposed treatment is in accordance with the patient's will. However, it is unknown whether family members of the patient in the VS actually base their decisions on the patient's wishes. Objective To examine the role of advance directives, orally expressed wishes, or the presumed will of patients in a VS for family caregivers' decisions on life-sustaining treatment. Methods and sample A qualitative interview study with 14 next of kin of patients in a VS in a long-term care setting was conducted; 13 participants were the patient's legal surrogates. Interviews were analysed according to qualitative content analysis. Results The majority of family caregivers said that they were aware of aforementioned wishes of the patient that could be applied to the VS condition, but did not base their decisions primarily on these wishes. They gave three reasons for this: (a) the expectation of clinical improvement, (b) the caregivers' definition of life-sustaining treatments and (c) the moral obligation not to harm the patient. If the patient's wishes were not known or not revealed, the caregivers interpreted a will to live into the patient's survival and non-verbal behaviour. Conclusions Whether or not prior treatment wishes of patients in a VS are respected depends on their applicability, and also on the medical assumptions and moral attitudes of the surrogates. We recommend repeated communication, support for the caregivers and advance care planning.

Reforms of the pre-graduate curriculum for medical students: the Bologna process and beyond.

For several years, all five medical faculties of Switzerland have embarked on a reform of their training curricula for two reasons: first, according to a new federal act issued in 2006 by the administration of the confederation, faculties needed to meet international standards in terms of content and pedagogic approaches; second, all Swiss universities and thus all medical faculties had to adapt the structure of their curriculum to the frame and principles which govern the Bologna process. This process is the result of the Bologna Declaration of June 1999 which proposes and requires a series of reforms to make European Higher Education more compatible and comparable, more competitive and more attractive for Europeans students. The present paper reviews some of the results achieved in the field, focusing on several issues such as the shortage of physicians and primary care practitioners, the importance of public health, community medicine and medical humanities, and the implementation of new training approaches including e-learning and simulation. In the future, faculties should work on several specific challenges such as: students' mobility, the improvement of students' autonomy and critical thinking as well as their generic and specific skills and finally a reflection on how to improve the attractiveness of the academic career, for physicians of both sexes.

Recurrent loss of heterozygosity in 1p36 associated with TNFRSF14 mutations in IRF4 translocation negative pediatric follicular lymphomas.

Pediatric follicular lymphoma is a rare disease that differs genetically and clinically from its adult counterpart. With the exception of pediatric follicular lymphoma with IRF4-translocation, the genetic events associated with these lymphomas have not yet been defined. We applied array-comparative genomic hybridization and molecular inversion probe assay analyses to formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissues from 18 patients aged 18 years and under with IRF4 translocation negative follicular lymphoma. All evaluable cases lacked t(14;18). Only 6 of 16 evaluable cases displayed chromosomal imbalances with gains or amplifications of 6pter-p24.3 (including IRF4) and deletion and copy number neutral-loss of heterozygosity in 1p36 (including TNFRSF14) being most frequent. Sequencing of TNFRSF14 located in the minimal region of loss in 1p36.32 showed nine mutations in 7 cases from our series. Two subsets of pediatric follicular lymphoma were delineated according to the presence of molecular alterations, one with genomic aberrations associated with higher grade and/or diffuse large B-cell lymphoma component and more widespread disease, and another one lacking genetic alterations associated with more limited disease.

Le développement de l'espace de culte en Grèce centrale et dans le Péloponnèse entre l'Helladique Récent IIIB et le Géométrique Récent

Notre travail s'insère dans un vaste courant de recherche qui concerne le développement du phénomène religieux en Grèce entre la période mycénienne et l'époque archaïque et qui touche non seulement à l'archéologie, mais aussi à l'histoire de la religion et à la linguistique. Avant de présenter l'objet d'étude choisi (l'espace de culte) et de définir nos perspectives, il nous semble pourtant nécessaire de tracer les lignes principales relatives au débat déclenché par les théories de continuité ou de rupture et aux développements plus récents (premier chapitre). Dans le deuxième chapitre, nous illustrerons la structure de notre travail et nous présenterons la méthode élaborée et les sources utilisées pour retracer l'évolution des lieux cultuels au fil du temps. Dans ce but, le recensement et l'analyse de ceux-ci sur la base de principes fondamentaux de l'archéologie du culte sera complémentaire à l'examen de leurs rapports avec le territoire environnant entre l'Helladique IIIB et le Géométrique Récent. Cette approche sera appliquée à l'analyse de contextes régionaux considérés (troisième chapitre) et nous permettra d'avancer de nouvelles hypothèses concernant la fréquentation et dans la destination des espaces de culte de la Grèce centrale et du Péloponnèse durant la période considérée (quatrième et cinquième chapitre).

No evidence for immune priming in ants exposed to a fungal pathogen.

There is accumulating evidence that invertebrates can acquire long-term protection against pathogens through immune priming. However, the range of pathogens eliciting immune priming and the specificity of the response remain unclear. Here, we tested if the exposure to a natural fungal pathogen elicited immune priming in ants. We found no evidence for immune priming in Formica selysi workers exposed to Beauveria bassiana. The initial exposure of ants to the fungus did not alter their resistance in a subsequent challenge with the same fungus. There was no sign of priming when using homologous and heterologous combinations of fungal strains for exposure and subsequent challenges at two time intervals. Hence, within the range of conditions tested, the immune response of this social insect to the fungal pathogen appears to lack memory and strain-specificity. These results show that immune priming is not ubiquitous across pathogens, hosts and conditions, possibly because of immune evasion by the pathogen or efficient social defences by the host.