Abundance of ostracoda in sediment cores CRP-1 and CRP-2

Sparse, poorly preserved late Oligocene (3 species) and early Miocene (4 species) ostracod faunas have been recovered from CRP-2A, while relatively more abundant Quaternary faunas occur in CRP-1 (24 species). All taxa are marine. No definitive age assignments can be made on the two older faunas, which are not considered to be in situ, although the taxa identified are not at variance with sediment ages determined on other grounds. The Oligocene ostracods (Lithostratigraphical Unit, LSU 9.4) suggest deposition in cold, relatively shallow, shelf waters with faunal connections to the Antarctic Peninsula and South America, while the Miocene fauna (LSU 5.1) is considered to be a cool-cold, deeper water (?outer shelf) association with faunal connections to both New Zealand and the Antarctic Peninsula. The Quaternary faunas are primarily from LSU 3.1 (carbonate-rich layer), and suggest deposition in very cold, relatively quiet water that was at least 100 m, and possibly 130-200 m deep. None of the taxa are known from pre-Pleistocene sediments, and all occur in modern Antarctic/sub-Antarctic regimes, predominantly from south of 60° S. Specimens in the "carbonate-rich layer" probably have suffered minor penecontemporaneous fractionation, while the fauna in LSU 2.2 has suffered more extensive post-mortem transportation and possible reworking (though not necessarily from pre-Quaternary sources).

Study of knowledge of genital herpes infection and attitudes to testing for genital herpes among antenatal clinic attendees

A descriptive survey of knowledge of genital herpes and attitudes to testing was conducted among antenatal clinic attendees at the Gold Coast Hospital, Australia. The study subjects showed a good knowledge of genital herpes, to a level that appears sufficient for an informed choice regarding herpes serology testing to be made. A preference for testing for genital herpes was suggested. Although serological testing is not routinely required, the results of the study indicate that discussion of genital herpes should be considered in the antenatal clinic, setting.

Evaluation of IDDM8 susceptibility locus in a Russian simplex family data set

Type 1 diabetes (TID) susceptibility locus, IDDM8, has been accurately mapped to 200 kilobases at the terminal end of chromosome 6q27. This is within the region which harbours a cluster of three genes encoding proteasome subunit beta 1 (PMSB1), TATA-box binding protein (TBP) and a homologue of mouse programming cell death activator 2 (PDCD2). In this study, we evaluated whether these genes contribute to TID susceptibility using the transmission disequilibrium test of the data set from 114 affected Russian simplex families. The A allele of the G/A1180 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) at the PDCD2 gene, which was significant in its preferential transfer from parents to diabetic children (75 transmissions vs. 47 non-transmissionS, x(2) = 12.85, P corrected = 0.0038), was found to be associated with T1D. G/A1180 dimorphism and two other SNPs, C/T771 TBP and G/T(-271) PDCD2, were shown to share three common haplotypes, two of which (A-T-G and A-T-T) have been associated with higher development risk of TID. The third haplotype (G-T-G) was related to having a lower risk of disease. These findings suggest that the PDCD2 gene is a likely susceptibility gene for TID within IDDM8. However, it was not possible to exclude the TBP gene from being another putative susceptibility gene in this region. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.