Dysphonic newborn cries allow prediction of their perceived meaning

Can adults attribute different meanings to the cries produced by the newborns on the basis of physical-acoustic cues in different communication conditions? In order to test this hypothesis, 20 females were asked to evaluate (according to four scales: anguish, anger, annoyance, care-seeking) 24 cries from 12 healthy full-term newborns (4-7h old): 6 newborns previously exposed to tactile communication (Group 1); 6 newborns without communication (Group 2). Annoyance category was not reliable and it was excluded from analyses. The 20 females attributed a higher rate of anger and anguish to the cries from Group 2, and a higher rate of care-seeking to the cries from Group 1. They attributed different meanings to the cries from Group 1, and undifferentiated meanings to the cries from Group 2. Consistent with bivariate analyses, Dysphonic Cry was the strongest predictor of anger/anguish. Although the Hyperphonic Cry was quantitatively not relevant, its absence was the first predictor for care-seeking.

Comparing the demonstration of freedom from Trichinella infection of domestic pigs by traditional and risk-based surveillance

Traditionally, the routine artificial digestion test is applied to assess the presence of Trichinella larvae in pigs. However, this diagnostic method has a low sensitivity compared to serological tests. The results from artificial digestion tests in Switzerland were evaluated over a time period of 15 years to determine by when freedom from infection based on these data could be confirmed. Freedom was defined as a 95% probability that the prevalence of infection was below 0.0001%. Freedom was demonstrated after 12 years at the latest. A new risk-based surveillance approach was then developed based on serology. Risk-based surveillance was also assessed over 15 years, starting in 2010. It was shown that by using this design, the sample size could be reduced by at least a factor of 4 when compared with the traditional testing regimen, without lowering the level of confidence in the Trichinella-free status of the pig population.

Differentiating normal hyaline cartilage from post-surgical repair tissue using fast gradient echo imaging in delayed gadolinium-enhanced MRI (dGEMRIC) at 3 Tesla

The purpose was to evaluate the relative glycosaminoglycan (GAG) content of repair tissue in patients after microfracturing (MFX) and matrix-associated autologous chondrocyte transplantation (MACT) of the knee joint with a dGEMRIC technique based on a newly developed short 3D-GRE sequence with two flip angle excitation pulses. Twenty patients treated with MFX or MACT (ten in each group) were enrolled. For comparability, patients from each group were matched by age (MFX: 37.1 +/- 16.3 years; MACT: 37.4 +/- 8.2 years) and postoperative interval (MFX: 33.0 +/- 17.3 months; MACT: 32.0 +/- 17.2 months). The Delta relaxation rate (DeltaR1) for repair tissue and normal hyaline cartilage and the relative DeltaR1 were calculated, and mean values were compared between both groups using an analysis of variance. The mean DeltaR1 for MFX was 1.07 +/- 0.34 versus 0.32 +/- 0.20 at the intact control site, and for MACT, 1.90 +/- 0.49 compared to 0.87 +/- 0.44, which resulted in a relative DeltaR1 of 3.39 for MFX and 2.18 for MACT. The difference between the cartilage repair groups was statistically significant. The new dGEMRIC technique based on dual flip angle excitation pulses showed higher GAG content in patients after MACT compared to MFX at the same postoperative interval and allowed reducing the data acquisition time to 4 min.

Pelvic lymph node dissection in prostate cancer

CONTEXT: Pelvic lymph node dissection (PLND) is considered the most reliable procedure for the detection of lymph node metastases in prostate cancer (PCa); however, the therapeutic benefit of PLND in PCa management is currently under debate. OBJECTIVE: To systematically review the available literature concerning the role of PLND and its extent in PCa staging and outcome. All of the existing recommendations and staging tools determining the need for PLND were also assessed. Moreover, a systematic review was performed of the long-term outcome of node-positive patients stratified according to the extent of nodal invasion. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION: A Medline search was conducted to identify original and review articles as well as editorials addressing the significance of PLND in PCa. Keywords included prostate cancer, pelvic lymph node dissection, radical prostatectomy, imaging, and complications. Data from the selected studies focussing on the role of PLND in PCa staging and outcome were reviewed and discussed by all of the contributing authors. EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS: Despite recent advances in imaging techniques, PLND remains the most accurate staging procedure for the detection of lymph node invasion (LNI) in PCa. The rate of LNI increases with the extent of PLND. Extended PLND (ePLND; ie, removal of obturator, external iliac, hypogastric with or without presacral and common iliac nodes) significantly improves the detection of lymph node metastases compared with limited PLND (lPLND; ie, removal of obturator with or without external iliac nodes), which is associated with poor staging accuracy. Because not all patients with PCa are at the same risk of harbouring nodal metastases, several nomograms and tables have been developed and validated to identify candidates for PLND. These tools, however, are based mostly on findings derived from lPLND dissections performed in older patient series. According to these prediction models, a staging PLND might be omitted in low-risk PCa patients because of the low rate of lymph node metastases found, even after extended dissections (<8%). The outcome for patients with positive nodes is not necessarily poor. Indeed, patients with low-volume nodal metastases experience excellent survival rates, regardless of adjuvant treatment. But despite few retrospective studies reporting an association between PLND and PCa progression and survival, the exact impact of PLND on patient outcomes has not yet been clearly proven because of the lack of prospective randomised trials. CONCLUSIONS: On the basis of current data, we suggest that if a PLND is indicated, then it should be extended. Conversely, in view of the low rate of LNI among patients with low-risk PCa, a staging ePLND might be spared in this patient category. Whether this approach is also safe from oncologic perspectives is still unknown. Patients with low-volume nodal metastases have a good long-term prognosis; to what extent this prognosis is the result of a positive impact of PLND on PCa outcomes is still to be determined.

Consumer Behavior in Moral Markets. On the Relevance of Identity, Justice Beliefs, Social Norms, Status and Trust in Ethical Consumption

This article addresses ethical consumer behavior and uses the purchase of Fair Trade (FT) coffee to gain insights into determinants of ‘moral behavior’ in the marketplace. Our primary concern is to clarify which theoretical concepts and determinants are more useful than others in explaining FT consumption. We compare the explanatory power of consumer budget restrictions, consumer identity, social and personal norms, social status, justice beliefs, and trust. Our second aim is methodological; we contrast data on self-reported consumption of FT coffee with experimental data on hypothetical choices of different coffee products. To gain insights into the robustness of our measurement and findings, we test our propositions using two samples of undergraduate students from Germany and the United States. Our data show that consumer identity and personal norms are the major determinants of FT consumption in both samples, the results from survey-based data and from our experimental data are similar in this regard. Further, we demonstrate that studies based on a limited number of determinants might overestimate effects; the effect of justice beliefs for instance vanishes if other determinants are taken into account.

Ancient DNA, a Neolithic legging from the Swiss Alps and the early history of goat

Ancient DNA from a Neolithic legging (1st half of the 3rd millennium BC) found at Lenk, Schnidejoch (2750 m a.sl.) in the Swiss Alps has demonstrated, that modern distribution of genetic variation does not reflect past spatio-temporal signatures. The legging was made from the skin of a domestic goat (Capra hircus), belonging to the caprine haplogroup B1, which is marginal in Europe today, but represents a third highly diverse goat haplogroup entering Europe already in the Neolithic. Population expansion of lineage B therefore happened more than 4500 years ago, but their members were at some point almost completely replaced by goats of today's common A and C haplogroups.

Outcomes after endovascular or open repair for degenerative descending thoracic aortic aneurysm using linked hospital data.

BACKGROUND The population-based effectiveness of thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) versus open surgery for descending thoracic aortic aneurysm remains in doubt. METHODS Patients aged over 50 years, without a history of aortic dissection, undergoing repair of a thoracic aortic aneurysm between 2006 and 2011 were assessed using mortality-linked individual patient data from Hospital Episode Statistics (England). The principal outcomes were 30-day operative mortality, long-term survival (5 years) and aortic-related reinterventions. TEVAR and open repair were compared using crude and multivariable models that adjusted for age and sex. RESULTS Overall, 759 patients underwent thoracic aortic aneurysm repair, mainly for intact aneurysms (618, 81·4 per cent). Median ages of TEVAR and open cohorts were 73 and 71 years respectively (P < 0·001), with more men undergoing TEVAR (P = 0·004). For intact aneurysms, the operative mortality rate was similar for TEVAR and open repair (6·5 versus 7·6 per cent; odds ratio 0·79, 95 per cent confidence interval (c.i.) 0·41 to 1·49), but the 5-year survival rate was significantly worse after TEVAR (54·2 versus 65·6 per cent; adjusted hazard ratio 1·45, 95 per cent c.i. 1·08 to 1·94). After 5 years, aortic-related mortality was similar in the two groups, but cardiopulmonary mortality was higher after TEVAR. TEVAR was associated with more aortic-related reinterventions (23·1 versus 14·3 per cent; adjusted HR 1·70, 95 per cent c.i. 1·11 to 2·60). There were 141 procedures for ruptured thoracic aneurysm (97 TEVAR, 44 open), with TEVAR showing no significant advantage in terms of operative mortality. CONCLUSION In England, operative mortality for degenerative descending thoracic aneurysm was similar after either TEVAR or open repair. Patients who had TEVAR appeared to have a higher reintervention rate and worse long-term survival, possibly owing to cardiopulmonary morbidity and other selection bias.

Uruburuella testudinis sp. nov., isolated from tortoise (Testudo)

A polyphasic taxonomic analysis was carried out on 11 uncommon Gram-stain-negative, non-motile, catalase- and oxidase-positive, but indole-negative, bacterial strains isolated from tortoises. Phenotypically and genetically they represented a homogeneous group of organisms most closely related to, but distinct from, Uruburuella suis. In a reconstructed 16S rRNA gene tree they clustered on a monophyletic branch next to U. suis with gene similarities between strains of 99.5-100%, and of up to 98.2% with U. suis . DNA-DNA hybridization indicated the organisms represented a novel species with only 40% DNA-DNA similarity with U. suis . Partial sequencing of rpoB resulted in two subclusters confirming the 16S rRNA gene phylogeny; both genes allowed clear separation and identification of the novel species. Furthermore, they could be unambiguously identified by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight MS, where, again, they formed a highly homogeneous cluster separate from U. suis and other members of the family Neisseriaceae . The major fatty acids were C(16 : 0) and summed feature C(16 : 1)ω7c/iso-C(15 : 0) 2-OH. The DNA G+C content was 54.4 mol%. Based on phenotypic and genetic data we propose classifying these organisms as representatives of a novel species named Uruburuella testudinis sp. nov. The type strain is 07_OD624(T) ( = DSM 26510(T) = CCUG 63373(T)).