Linshuichonetes gen. nov., a new rugosochonetid (Brachiopoda) genus from the Liangshan Formation (Early Permian) in Sichuan, China, and its ecology

A new genus and species, Linshuichonetes elfinis, belonging to the Rugosochonetidae, is described from the Early Permian (Late Artinskian or early Kungurian) Liangshan Formation of the Yangtze block. The new genus is defined externally by the presence of fine, but delayed, capillation and a weak or absent median sulcus and fold and by the presence of a distinct posteromedian sinus on the ventral umbo; and internally by a lack of median, lateral and accessory septa in the dorsal interior; absence of vascular trunks in the ventral interior and the presence of distinct radiating rows of papillae in the interior of both valves, particularly an unusual clustered arrangement of papillae on the posteromedian portion of the dorsal interior. The local environment during the deposition of the Liangshan Formation appears to have been a restricted tidal flat or lagoon which experienced frequent sealevel fluctuations associated with the onset of the Yanghsingian transgression. The new species, L. elfinis, appears to have several morphological adaptations enabling successful exploitation of this environment. It was typically a very small and thin-valved species with a high surface area to volume ratio, an advantage in an oxygen restricted environment. The small size and numerous body spinules would have aided individuals to remain suspended at the top of the fine, soft substrate. It also dominated the brachiopod assemblage in the Liangshan Formation, comprising up to 94%of specimens within a bed. These factors indicate that the new species appears to be an opportunistic species.

Puberty and the onset of substance use and abuse

Objective: Substance abuse remains one of the major threats to adolescent health in Western cultures. The study aim was to ascertain the extent of association between pubertal development and early adolescent substance use.

Methods: The design was a cross-sectional survey of 10- to 15-year-old subjects in the states of Washington, United States, and Victoria, Australia. Participants were 5769 students in grades 5, 7, and 9, drawn as a 2-stage cluster sample in each state, and the questionnaire was completed in the school classrooms. The main outcomes of the study were lifetime substance use (tobacco use, having been drunk, or cannabis use), recent substance use (tobacco, alcohol, or cannabis use in the previous month), and substance abuse (daily smoking, any binge drinking, drinking at least weekly, or cannabis use at least weekly).

Results: The odds of lifetime substance use were almost twofold higher (odds ratio [OR]: 1.7; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.4–2.1) in midpuberty (Tanner stage III) and were threefold higher (OR: 3.1; 95% CI: 2.4–4.2) in late puberty (Tanner stage IV/V), after adjustment for age and school grade level. Recent substance use was moderately higher (OR: 1.4; 95% CI: 1.0–1.9) in midpuberty and more than twofold higher (OR: 2.3; 95% CI: 1.7–3.3) in late puberty. The odds of substance abuse were twofold higher (OR: 2.0; 95% CI: 1.2–3.2) in midpuberty and more than threefold higher (OR: 3.5; 95% CI: 2.2–5.4) in late puberty. Reporting most friends as substance users was more likely in the later stages of pubertal development, a relationship that accounted in part for the association found between later pubertal stage and substance abuse.

Conclusions: Pubertal stage was associated with higher rates of substance use and abuse independent of age and school grade level. Early maturers had higher levels of substance use because they entered the risk period at an earlier point than did late maturers. The study findings support prevention strategies and policies that decrease recreational substance use within the peer social group in the early teens.

The linshuichonetes-Crurithyris community and new productid species from the Cisuralian (Early Permian) of Sichuan, China

Two marginiferinid species, Marginifera spinulifera sp. nov. and Transennatia sulcata sp. nov. are described from the Early Permian Liangshan and lowermost Chihsia formations at the Chuanmu Section, Sichuan, China. The Linshuichonetes – Crurithyris Community is discussed in the context of a pioneering opportunistic community that developed at the onset of the Yanghsingian transgression in the late Artinskian. This community was characterized by species that were generally small and relatively thin-shelled, and showed other features that are ecological adaptations to fluctuating environmental conditions.

Onset of word form recognition in English, Welsh, and English-Welsh bilingual infants

Children raised in the home as English or Welsh monolinguals or English–Welsh bilinguals were tested on untrained word form recognition using both behavioral and neurophysiological procedures. Behavioral measures confirmed the onset of a familiarity effect at 11 months in English but failed to identify it in monolingual Welsh infants between 9 and 12 months. In the neurophysiological procedure the familiarity effect was detected as early as 10 months in English but did not reach significance in monolingual Welsh. Bilingual children showed word form familiarity effects by 11 months in both languages and also revealed an online time course for word recognition that combined effects found for monolingual English and Welsh. To account for the findings, accentual, grammatical, and sociolinguistic differences between English and Welsh are considered.

Environmental risk factors of young onset Parkinson`s disease: a case-control study

While the cause of Parkinson's disease (PD) remains unknown, recent evidence suggests certain environmental factors, such as well water drinking, herbicides and pesticides exposure, and neurotoxins, may trigger the chain of oxidative reactions culminating in the death of dopaminergic neurons in substantia nigra to cause parkinsonism. Most studies to date focused on PD with old age onset. However, there is a peculiar group of parkinsonian patients, the young onset Parkinson's disease (YOPD), in whom the age of onset is before 40. It is intriguing to know whether earlier exposure to the putative neurotoxin(s) may contribute to the earlier onset. We therefore conducted this case-control study in which 60 PD patients, 30 YOPD patients and the same number of age- and sex-matched young controls were included. Using logistic regression, we found well water drinking and head injury were risk factors for the development of YOPD. When YOPD patients were compared with PD, we found head injury and exercise were the significant predictors. Keeping all other variables constant, head injury was a risk factor and exercise appeared to be a protective factor. We conclude early exposure to well water drinking and head trauma may trigger and expedite the appearance of parkinsonian features, but such acceleration may be prevented through regular exercise.

The impact of age at onset of bipolar I disorder on functioning and clinical presentation

Objectives: Recent studies have proposed the existence of three distinct subgroups of bipolar 1 disorder based on age at onset (AAO). The present study aims to investigate potential clinical and functional differences between these subgroups in an Australian sample.

Methods: Participants (n = 239) were enrolled in the Bipolar Comprehensive Outcomes Study (BCOS), a 2-year longitudinal, observational, cross-sectional study. Assessment measures included the Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS), Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD21), Clinical Global Impressions Scale (CGI-BP), SF-36, SLICE/Life Scale, and the EuroQol (EQ-5D). Participants were also asked about their age at the first major affective episode.

Results: Three AAO groups were compared: early (AAO < 20, mean = 15.5 ± 2.72; 44.4% of the participants); intermediate (AAO 20–39, mean = 26.1 ± 4.8; 48.14% of the participants) and late (AAO > 40, mean = 50.6 ± 9.04; 7.4% of the participants). Higher rates of depression, suicidal ideation and binge drinking were reported by the early AAO group. This group also reported poorer quality of life in a number of areas. The early AAO group had a predominant depressive initial polarity and the intermediate group had a manic predominance.

Conclusion: Early AAO is associated with an adverse outcome.

Early intervention with erythropoietin does not affect the outcome of acute kidney injury (the EARLYARF trial)

We performed a double-blind placebo-controlled trial to study whether early treatment with erythropoietin could prevent the development of acute kidney injury in patients in two general intensive care units. As a guide for choosing the patients for treatment we measured urinary levels of two biomarkers, the proximal tubular brush border enzymes γ-glutamyl transpeptidase and alkaline phosphatase. Randomization to either placebo or two doses of erythropoietin was triggered by an increase in the biomarker concentration product to levels above 46.3, with a primary outcome of relative average plasma creatinine increase from baseline over 4 to 7 days. Of 529 patients, 162 were randomized within an average of 3.5 h of a positive sample. There was no difference in the incidence of erythropoietin-specific adverse events or in the primary outcome between the placebo and treatment groups. The triggering biomarker concentration product selected patients with more severe illness and at greater risk of acute kidney injury, dialysis, or death; however, the marker elevations were transient. Early intervention with high-dose erythropoietin was safe but did not alter the outcome. Although these two urine biomarkers facilitated our early intervention, their transient increase compromised effective triaging. Further, our study showed that a composite of these two biomarkers was insufficient for risk stratification in a patient population with a heterogeneous onset of injury.

Hip adductor muscle strength is reduced preceding and during the onset of groin pain in elite junior Australian football players

Groin pain is a condition with a high prevalence in young Australian football players. It is considered that early identification of this condition allows for optimal management. Eighty-six players from two elite under-age Australian football sides were screened weekly for hip adductor muscle strength, using a hand-held dynamometer and for the onset of groin pain. The maximum variation in the average hip adductor muscle strength values of the sample was a 2.6% decrease from baseline in week 7 of the study. Twelve players (14% of the sample studied) reported groin pain for two consecutive weeks and were considered to have an onset of groin injury. The mean hip adductor muscle strength of these players was decreased significantly from baseline by an average of 11.75 ± 2.50% at the week of pain onset (F = 264.76 (1,11), p < 0.001), and 5.82 ± 5.16% in the week preceding the onset of pain (F = 14.03 (1,10), p = 0.004). These results confirm that hip adductor muscle strength is decreased both preceding and during the onset of groin injury in elite under-age Australian footballers.

Effects of early-life environment and epigenetics on cardiovascular disease risk in children: highlighting the role of twin studies

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death worldwide and originates in early life. The exact mechanisms of this early-life origin are unclear, but a likely mediator at the molecular level is epigenetic dysregulation of gene expression. Epigenetic factors have thus been posited as the likely drivers of early-life programming of adult-onset diseases. This review summarizes recent advances in epidemiology and epigenetic research of CVD risk in children, with a particular focus on twin studies. Classic twin studies enable partitioning of phenotypic variance within a population into additive genetic, shared, and nonshared environmental variances, and are invaluable in research in this area. Longitudinal cohort twin studies, in particular, may provide important insights into the role of epigenetics in the pathogenesis of CVD. We describe candidate gene and epigenome-wide association studies (EWASs) and transgenerational epigenetic inheritance of CVD, and discuss the potential for evidence-based interventions. Identifying epigenetic changes associated with CVD-risk biomarkers in children will provide new opportunities to unravel the underlying biological mechanism of the origins of CVD and enable identification of those at risk for early-life interventions to alter the risk trajectory and potentially reduce CVD incidence later in life.

Recommendations for and compliance with social restrictions during implementation of school closures in the early phase of the influenza A (H1N1) 2009 outbreak in Melbourne, Australia

Background Localized reactive school and classroom closures were implemented as part of a suite of pandemic containment measures during the initial response to influenza A (H1N1) 2009 in Melbourne, Australia. Infected individuals, and those who had been in close contact with a case, were asked to stay in voluntary home quarantine and refrain from contact with visitors for seven days from the date of symptom onset or exposure to an infected person. Oseltamivir (Tamiflu®) was available for treatment or prophylaxis. Methods We surveyed affected families through schools involved in the closures. Analyses of responses were descriptive. We characterized recommendations made to case and contact households and quantified adherence to guidelines and antiviral therapy. Results Of the 314 respondent households, 51 contained a confirmed case. The prescribed quarantine period ranged from 1-14 days, reflecting logistic difficulties in reactive implementation relative to the stated guidelines. Household-level compliance with the requirement to stay at home was high (84.5%, 95% CI 79.3,88.5) and contact with children outside the immediate family infrequent. Conclusions Levels of compliance with recommendations in our sample were high compared with other studies, likely due to heightened public awareness of a newly introduced virus of uncertain severity. The variability of reported recommendations highlighted the difficulties inherent in implementing a targeted reactive strategy, such as that employed in Melbourne, on a large scale during a public health emergency. This study emphasizes the need to understand how public health measures are implemented when seeking to evaluate their effectiveness.

Association between serotonin transporter genotype, brain structure and adolescent onset major depressive disorder: a longitudinal prospective study

The extent to which brain structural abnormalities might serve as neurobiological endophenotypes that mediate the link between the variation in the promoter of the serotonin transporter gene (5-HTTLPR) and depression is currently unknown. We therefore investigated whether variation in hippocampus, amygdala, orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and anterior cingulate cortex volumes at age 12 years mediated a putative association between 5-HTTLPR genotype and first onset of major depressive disorder (MDD) between age 13–19 years, in a longitudinal study of 174 adolescents (48% males). Increasing copies of S-alleles were found to predict smaller left hippocampal volume, which in turn was associated with increased risk of experiencing a first onset of MDD. Increasing copies of S-alleles also predicted both smaller left and right medial OFC volumes, although neither left nor right medial OFC volumes were prospectively associated with a first episode of MDD during adolescence. The findings therefore suggest that structural abnormalities in the left hippocampus may be present prior to the onset of depression during adolescence and may be partly responsible for an indirect association between 5-HTTLPR genotype and depressive illness. 5-HTTLPR genotype may also impact upon other regions of the brain, such as the OFC, but structural differences in these regions in early adolescence may not necessarily alter the risk for onset of depression during later adolescence.

Changes in the nutritional composition of captive early-mid stage Panulirus ornatus phyllosoma over ecdysis and larval development

Elucidation of the key nutritional requirements for complete larval development of the tropical spiny rock lobster, Panulirus ornatus, presents a major challenge for the development of robust commercial aquaculture for this crustacean. As a foundation study in this area, the chemical composition of early-mid stage P. ornatus phyllosoma (Stages I-VI) receiving a novel formulated diet was analysed immediately prior and post-ecdysis to provide insight into the crude nutritional trends during the larval development cycle. From the onset of moulting, cyclical patterns were evident in the proximate composition of phyllosoma, resulting in substantial restructuring between the pre- and post-moult stages of the moult cycle. Proportions of protein, lipid and ash were high at the premoult stage, reflecting growth and nutrient accumulation over the intermoult period, and reduced at the post-moult stage, reflecting the large uptake of water to facilitate subsequent growth. Polar lipid was the dominant lipid class, accounting for >. 90% of the total lipid content. Conversely, triacylglycerol concentrations were low (<. 5%), despite being the principal lipid class available in the formulated diet. Likewise, despite receiving high concentrations of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, 20:5n-3) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6n-3) (9.2 and 7.6% of the dietary lipid source, respectively), levels of these fatty acids were comparatively low in phyllosoma (3.4 and 4.7%, respectively). In contrast, there is selective deposition of these fatty acids in wild caught phyllosoma. This finding suggests a poor assimilation of triacylglycerols by captive larvae and highlights the importance of future investigations into alternative sources of EPA and DHA. Ultimately, this study provides insight into the nutritional requirements of phyllosoma, providing valuable knowledge on diet formulation for commercially viable hatchery production of spiny rock lobsters. © 2014 Elsevier B.V.

Pharmacological treatment in the early phase of bipolar disorders: what stage are we at?

To review available guidelines, explore treatment strategies currently applied, identify critical issues and propose direction for new developments.

Reassessing the Effects of Early Adolescent Alcohol Use on Later Antisocial Behavior : A Longitudinal Study of Students in Victoria, Australia and Washington State, United States

The effect of early adolescent alcohol use on antisocial behavior was examined at one- and two-year follow-up in Washington, United States and Victoria, Australia. Each state used the same methods to survey statewide representative samples of students (N = 1,858, 52% female) in 2002 (Grade 7 [G7]), 2003 (Grade 8 [G8]), and 2004 (Grade 9 [G9]). Rates of lifetime, current, frequent, and heavy episodic alcohol use were higher in Victoria than Washington State, whereas rates of five antisocial behaviors were generally comparable across states. After controlling for established risk factors, few associations between alcohol use and antisocial behavior remained, except that G7 current use predicted G8 police arrests and stealing and G9 carrying a weapon and stealing; G7 heavy episodic use predicted G8 and G9 police arrests; and G7 lifetime use predicted G9 carrying a weapon. Hence, risk factors other than alcohol were stronger predictors of antisocial behaviors.

Presleep activities and time of sleep onset in children

OBJECTIVE: Presleep activities have been implicated in the declining sleep duration of young people. A use-of-time approach may be used to describe the presleep period. The study aims were to describe the activities undertaken 90 minutes before sleep onset and to examine the association between activities and time of sleep onset in New Zealand young people. METHODS: Participants (N = 2017; 5-18 years) self-reported their time use as part of a national survey. All activities reported in the 90 minutes before sleep were extracted. The top 20 activities were grouped into 3 behavioral sets: screen sedentary time, nonscreen sedentary time, and self-care. An adjusted regression model was used to estimate presleep time spent in each behavioral set for 4 distinct categories of sleep onset (very early, early, late, or very late), and the differences between sleep onset categories were tested. RESULTS: In the entire sample, television watching was the most commonly reported activity, and screen sedentary time accounted for ∼30 minutes of the 90-minute presleep period. Participants with a later sleep onset had significantly greater engagement in screen time than those with an earlier sleep onset. Conversely, those with an earlier sleep onset spent significantly greater time in nonscreen sedentary activities and self-care. CONCLUSIONS: Screen sedentary time dominated the presleep period in this sample and was associated with a later sleep onset. The development of interventions to reduce screen-based behaviors in the presleep period may promote earlier sleep onset and ultimately improved sleep duration in young people.