Low doses of a neonicotinoid insecticide modify pheromone response thresholds of central but not peripheral olfactory neurons in a pest insect

International audience

Hansen Neuropathy: Still a Possible Diagnosis in the Investigation of a Peripheral Neuropathy

INTRODUCTION: Leprosy is still one of the most frequent causes of peripheral neuropathy. Although regarded as eradicated in Portugal, is still documented in neuropathological study of patients with clinical peripheral neuropathy without proper diagnosis.

Peripheral communities of the Eastern Lau Spreading Center and Valu Fa Ridge: community composition, temporal change and comparison to near-vent communities

Western Pacific hydrothermal vents will soon be subjected to deep-sea mining and peripheral sites are considered the most practical targets. The limited information on community dynamics and temporal change in these communities makes it difficult to anticipate the impact of mining activities and recovery trajectories. We studied community composition of peripheral communities along a cline in hydrothermal chemistry on the Eastern Lau Spreading Center and Valu Fa Ridge (ELSC-VFR) and also studied patterns of temporal change. Peripheral communities located in the northern vent fields of the ELSC-VFR are significantly different from those in the southern vent fields. Higher abundances of zoanthids and anemones were found in northern peripheral sites and the symbiont-containing mussel Bathymodiolus brevior, brisingid seastars and polynoids were only present in the northern peripheral sites. By contrast, certain faunal groups were seen only in the southern peripheral sites, such as lollipop sponges, pycnogonids and ophiuroids. Taxonomic richness of the peripheral communities was similar to that of active vent communities, due to the presence of non-vent endemic species that balanced the absence of species found in areas of active venting. The communities present at waning active sites resemble those of peripheral sites, indicating that peripheral species can colonize previously active vent sites in addition to settling in the periphery of areas of venting. Growth and mortality were observed in a number of the normally slow-growing cladorhizid stick sponges, indicating that these animals may exhibit life history strategies in the vicinity of vents that differ from those previously recorded. A novel facultative association between polynoids and anemones is proposed based on their correlated distributions.

In vivo time-lapse imaging of mitochondria in healthy and diseased peripheral myelin sheath

International audience

Kawasaki Disease and Peripheral Gangrene in Infancy

Introduction: Early diagnosis and treatment of Kawasaki disease as the most common cause of acquired heart disease in childhood, may significantly improve the prognosis. Diagnosing infantile Kawasaki (younger than a year) is difficult because of obscure symptoms; at the same time they are at the higher risk of coronary abnormalities. Case Presentation: We report three infants with prolonged (more than 5 days) fever and peripheral gangrene without any other clinical manifestations of Kawasaki disease. Kawasaki was diagnosed due to dilation of coronary artery and other aortic branches, thrombocytosis, and rising of ESR and CRP. All patients were treated with high dose aspirin, IVIG and pulse therapy with methylprednisolone. Additionally, cytotoxic drugs or infliximab were used for two of them because of severe aneurysms in the aortic branches. All 3 patients received aspirin with anti-platelet aggregation dose and 2 patients heparin as an anti-coagulant agent for longtime. After adequate treatment, peripheral gangrene, arterial dilations and aneurysms improved, but during 12 months follow-up coronary aneurysms did not improve completely. Conclusions: Peripheral gangrene must be regarded as an important sign of infantile Kawasaki disease early treatment of which can prevent severe permanent coronary involvements and sequels.

Peripheral brain-derived neurotrophic factor levels in alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment: A comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is becoming a growing global problem, and there is an urgent need to identify reliable blood biomarkers of the risk and progression of this condition. A potential candidate is the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which modulates major trophic effects in the brain. However, findings are apparently inconsistent regarding peripheral blood BDNF levels in AD patients vs. healthy people. We thus performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of the studies that have examined peripheral BDNF levels in patients with AD or mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and healthy controls. We searched articles through PubMed, EMBASE, and hand searching. Over a total pool of 2061 potential articles, 26 met all inclusion criteria (including a total of 1584 AD patients, 556 MCI patients, and 1294 controls). A meta-analysis of BDNF levels between early AD and controls showed statistically significantly higher levels (SMD [95 % CI]: 0.72 [0.31, 1.13]) with no heterogeneity. AD patients with a low (<20) mini-mental state examination (MMSE) score had lower peripheral BDNF levels compared with controls (SMD [95 % CI]: -0.33 [-0.60, -0.05]). However, we found no statistically significant difference in blood (serum/plasma) BDNF levels between all AD patients and controls (standard mean difference, SMD [95 % CI]: -0.16 [-0.4, 0.07]), and there was heterogeneity among studies (P < 0.0001, I 2 = 85.8 %). There were no differences in blood BDNF levels among AD or MCI patients vs. controls by subgroup analyses according to age, sex, and drug use. In conclusion, this meta-analysis shows that peripheral blood BDNF levels seem to be increased in early AD and decreased in AD patients with low MMSE scores respectively compared with their age- and sex-matched healthy referents. At present, however, this could not be concluded from individual studies.

Physiological and symptomatic responses to cycling and walking in intermittent claudication

To shed light on the potential efficacy of cycling as a testing modality in the treatment of intermittent claudication (IC), this study compared physiological and symptomatic responses to graded walking and cycling tests in claudicants. Sixteen subjects with peripheral arterial disease (resting ankle: brachial index (ABI) < 0.9) and IC completed a maximal graded treadmill walking (T) and cycle (C) test after three familiarization tests on each mode. During each test, symptoms, oxygen uptake (VO2), minute ventilation (VE), respiratory exchange ratio (RER) and heart rate (HR) were measured, and for 10 min after each test the brachial and ankle systolic pressures were recorded. All but one subject experienced calf pain as the primary limiting symptom during T; whereas the symptoms were more varied during C and included thigh pain, calf pain and dyspnoea. Although maximal exercise time was significantly longer on C than T (690 +/- 67 vs. 495 +/- 57 s), peak VO2, peak VE and peak heart rate during C and T were not different; whereas peak RER was higher during C. These responses during C and T were also positively correlated (P < 0.05) with each other, with the exception of RER. The postexercise systolic pressures were also not different between C and T. However, the peak decline in ankle pressures from resting values after C and T were not correlated with each other. These data demonstrate that cycling and walking induce a similar level of metabolic and cardiovascular strain, but that the primary limiting symptoms and haemodynamic response in an individual's extremity, measured after exercise, can differ substantially between these two modes.

The guide to the project management body of knowledge (PMBOK Guide) : applicability and contribution to project success in Australia

The PMBOK Guide is one of the most influential publications concerning the knowledge of the project manangement. Moreover, the pervasion of this guide seems to be set to increase as the basis of accreditation - in conjunction with the increasing global trend toward obtaining project management professional status. However, despite the influence and strengthening profile of this guide, reports continue to be published that detail numerous project failures in a wide range of different industries. The PMBOK Guide comprises mainly declarative (know-what) and procedural (know-how) information. In this sense, the guide is largely normative and provides a very good example of the limitations of this approach as highlighted by proponents of a move to the genuine application of positibe theory in project management.----- The aim of this paper is to determine the applicability of the guide in Australia and to determine the extent to which project success can be attributed to the guide. Project Managers from a variety of organisations were surveyed. This postal survey yielded 48 replies. Descriptive statistics was used to assess the incidence and effectivieness of all the processes in the guide. The results indicate that there were no processes that could be considered as peripheral or as a candidate for elimination from the guide. More specifically, all the processes were identified as either a key routine process or a key selective process and positively related to the level of project success. However, the results also indicated that other major factors pertaining to causal knowledge (know-why) are, at least, equally important determinants of project success. It is concluded that declarative, procedural and causal knowledge are all valuable, and given the preponderance of the first two types of knowledge, there seems to be an urgent need to now ensure an equal quest for causal knowledge. In terms of developing causal knowledge, a good starting point would appear to be both positive theory from production and economics.

Manufacturing challenges with fabrication of large size mechanical harmonic drives

Mechanical harmonic transmissions are relatively new kind of drives having several unusual features. For example, they can provide reduction ratio up to 500:1 in one stage, have very small teeth module compared to conventional drives and very large number of teeth (up to 1000) on a flexible gear. If for conventional drives manufacturing methods are well-developed, fabrication of large size harmonic drives presents a challenge. For example, how to fabricate a thin shell of 1.7m in diameter and wall thickness of 30mm having high precision external teeth at one end and internal splines at the other end? It is so flexible that conventional fabrication methods become unsuitable. In this paper special fabrication methods are discussed that can be used for manufacturing of large size harmonic drive components. They include electro-slag welding and refining, the use of special expandable devices to locate and hold a flexible gear, welding peripheral parts of disks with wear resistant materials with subsequent machining and others. These fabrication methods proved to be effective and harmonic drives built with the use of these innovative technologies have been installed on heavy metallurgical equipment and successfully tested.

Gesturing elsewhere: the identity politics of the Balinese death/thrash metal scene

This essay explores the political significance of Balinese death/thrash fandom. In the early 1990s, the emergence of a death/thrash scene in Bali paralleled growing criticism of accelerated tourism development on the island. Specifically, locals protested the increasing ubiquity of Jakarta, 'the centre', cast as threatening to an authentically 'low', peripheral Balinese culture. Similarly, death/thrash enthusiasts also gravitated toward certain fringes, although they rejected dominant notions of Balinese-ness by gesturing elsewhere, toward a global scene. The essay explores the ways in which death/thrash enthusiasts engaged with local discourses by coveting their marginality, and aims to demonstrate how their articulations of 'alien-ness' contributed in important ways to a broader regionalism.

The legality of tissue transplants for the benefit of family members in the UK and Australia : implications for saviour siblings

The ethics of creating ‘saviour siblings’ for the benefit of another has received much attention, but little consideration has been given to the legal position of those saviours born who may be asked to provide tissue for transplantation to another during childhood. This article examines the ethical issues surrounding minor donation as well as the existing legal framework in the UK and Australia that regulates minors providing tissue for the benefit of another. Against this background the position of minor saviours, who are called upon to donate bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cells, is examined. This analysis suggests that the law does not provide sufficient protection for minor saviours who are called upon to donate to another. It is argued that specific ethical obligations are owed to saviours—that ought to be reflected in the law—in order to protect them from exploitation while they remain minors.

Exploring product placement in video games : an investigation of recall effects

Despite its growth and prominence, product placement is generally under-researched and this is even more apparent in the area of placement in video gaming. This paper presents exploratory focus group research into this practice. Findings indicate that the introductory footage to a game provides placement opportunities with the highest level of recall, while peripheral non-action is the worst. Interestingly, recall also appears to be higher for individual brands as opposed to manufacturer brands.

8-Ammonionaphthalene-2-sulfonate monohydrate : the zwitterionic hydrate of 1,7-Cleve's acid

The structure of 8-amino-2-naphthalenesulfonic acid monohydrate (1,7-Cleve's acid hydrate), C10H9NO3S.H2O, shows the presence of a sulfonate-aminium group zwitterion, both groups and the water molecule of solvation giving cyclic R3/3(8) intermolecular hydrogen-bonding interactions forming chains which extend down a axis of the unit cell. Additional peripheral associations, including weak aromatic ring pi-pi interactions [centroid-centroid distance 3.6299(15)A], result in a two-dimensional sheet structure.