LipL53, a temperature regulated protein from Leptospira interrogans that binds to extracellular matrix molecules

The regulation of gene expression by environmental signals, such as temperature and osmolarity, has been correlated with virulence. In this study, we characterize the protein LipL53 from Leptospira interrogans, previously shown to react with serum sample of individual diagnosed with leptospirosis and to be up-regulated by shift to physiological osmolarity. The recombinant protein was expressed in Escherichia coli system, in insoluble form, recovered by urea solubilization and further refolded by decreasing the denaturing agent concentration during the purification procedure. The secondary structure content of the recombinant LipL53, as assessed by circular dichroism, showed a mixture of beta-strands and alpha-helix. The presence of LipL53 transcript at 28 degrees C was only detected within the virulent strains. However, upon shifted of attenuated cultures of pathogenic strains from 28 degrees C to 37 degrees C and to 39 degrees C, this transcript could also be observed. LipL53 binds laminin, collagen IV, cellular and plasma fibronectin in dose-dependent and saturable manner. Animal challenge studies showed that LipL53, although immunogenic, elicited only partial protection in hamsters. LipL53 is probably surface exposed as seen through immunofluorescence confocal microscopy. Our results suggest that LipL53 is a novel temperature regulated adhesin of L. interrogans that may be relevant in the leptospiral pathogenesis. (C) 2009 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Rural and urban attitudes to the conservation of Asian elephants in Sri Lanka: Empirical evidence

There has been little study of economic and general attitudes towards the conservation of the Asian elephant. This paper reports and analyses results from surveys conducted in Sri Lanka of attitudes of urban dwellers and farmers towards nature conservation in general and the elephant conservation in particular. The analyses are based on urban and a rural sample. Contingent valuation techniques are used as survey instruments. Multivariate logit regression analysis is used to analyze the respondents’ attitudes towards conservation of elephants. It is found that, although some variations occurred between the samples, the majority of the respondents (both rural and urban) have positive attitudes towards nature conservation in general. However, marked differences in attitudes toward elephant conservation are evident between these two samples: the majority of urban respondents were in favour of elephant conservation; rural respondents expressed a mixture of positive and negative attitudes. Overall, considerable unrecorded and as yet unutilised economic support for conservation of wild elephants exists in Sri Lanka.

Willingness to pay for conservation of the Asian elephant in Sri Lanka: A contingent valuation study

Results from a CVM survey of willingness to pay for the conservation of the Asian elephant of a sample of urban residents in three selected housing schemes in Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka, are reported. Face– to–face surveys were conducted using an interview schedule. A non-linear logit regression model was constructed to analyse the respondents’ responses for the payment principle questions and to identify the factors that influence their responses. We investigate whether urban residents’ WTP for the conservation of elephants is sufficient to compensate farmers for the damage caused by elephants, and consequently to raise farmers’ tolerance of the presence of elephants on the farming fields. We find that beneficiaries (the urban residents) could compensate losers (the farmers in the HEC affected areas) and be better off than in the absence of elephants in Sri Lanka. This suggests that there is a strong economic case for the conservation of the wild elephant population in Sri Lanka. However, we have insufficient data to determine Sri Lanka’s optimal elephant population in the Kaldor-Hicks sense.

Willingness of Sri Lankan farmers to pay for a scheme to conserve elephants: An empirical analysis

This paper explores the feasibility of adopting an integrated economic approach to raise farmers’ tolerance of the presence of elephants on their farming lands. Responses to this approach were sought from a sample of farmers in the areas affected by human elephant conflict in the northwestern province of Sri Lanka. Results from a contingent valuation survey of their willingness to pay for a scheme to conserve elephants are also reported. Two separate logit regression analyses were undertaken to examine the factors that influence the farmers’ responses for the payment principle question and their opinions on the integrated economic approach. Although found that the majority of the respondents expressed their willingness to pay for the proposed scheme and supported for the implementation of the integrated approach, we have insufficient data yet to determine if their support and financial contribution would be sufficient to set up this programme and also to predict its economic viability. Nevertheless, the overall finding of this study provides an improved economic assessment of the farmers’ attitudes towards the wild elephant in Sri Lanka. At the same time the study shows that, contrary to commonly held assumptions, farmers in this developing country, do support wildlife conservation.

Visitor profiles and environmental attributes, especially of birds, attracting visitors to Lamington National Park: Tourist attitudes and economic issues

Uses a sample of 622 day and overnight visitors to the O’ Reilly’s/Green Mountains site of Lamington National Park, Queensland, Australia, to identify their socio-economic and other pertinent characteristics and the main reasons and attributes that attract them to the site. Particular attention is given to birds and their attributes as attractions. The primary economic injection accruing locally as a result of visits is examined and the difference that the presence of birds makes to local expenditure by visitors is explored. The extent of support for and objection to the introduction of a fee for entering Lamington National Park is estimated. The many suggestions received from visitors for environmental improvements at this site are discussed. It is suggested that unless a way can be found to regulate the number of visitors to this site and obtain extra funds to finance improvements at this site, the magnitude of many of these problems will grow. This will necessitate a fresh look at the desirability or otherwise for charging entry fees to Lamington National Park.

Attitudes to entry fees to National Parks: Results and policy implications from a Queensland case study

Examines visitor attitudes and whether visitors are willing to pay to enter Lamington National Park and under what circumstances they would do so. First a sample of visitors is asked a general (normative) question as to whether visitors should pay to visit Lamington National Park and in another question (positive) they are asked whether they would be more willing to pay if the money collected would be invested in the park to improve visitor facilities and for conservation work. The results show that visitors are more willing to accept the ‘user-pays’ principle if the money will be used for the benefit of the national park and its visitors. It was found that foreigners are more in support for a ‘user-pay’ fee than Australians, and among Australians, those visitors from Queensland are the least willing to accept the idea of a user-pay fee to enter the park. The results indicate that if visitors can be shown the benefits (both for visitors and for conservation) of charging an entry fee, then visitors are more likely to support such a concept than when they are unaware of the benefits of a user-fee. The study shows that on average foreigners are willing to pay more than Australians. Finally, the regression results identify significant factors influencing visitors’ attitudes and suggested amounts to visit the national park.

Willingness to pay for different degrees of abundance of elephants

This paper presents an application of the contingent valuation method (CVM) to determine how the willingness to pay (WTP) for conservation of Asian elephants varies with hypothetical variations in their population. Results from a CVM survey of a sample of urban residents in Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka are used for this purpose. We find, consistent with the basic principles of consumer demand theory, the marginal change in the respondents’ WTP amounts is positive but appears to diminish in parallel to the increases in the current wild elephant population (CWEP). In contrast to theoretical expectations, however, we find that the WTP for preserving this species increases at an increasing rate in relation to decreases in the CWEP. This is probably because respondents perceive that extinction becomes more imminent as the abundance of the elephant is reduced and therefore it becomes more urgent to act. However, this adds a new complication to the interpretation of the WTP findings.

Clinical versus laboratory adhesive performance to wet and dry demineralized primary dentin

Purpose: To evaluate the influence of dentin moisture on bond strengths of an etch-and-rinse bonding agent to primary dentin clinically and in the laboratory. Methods: The sample consisted of two groups of 20 caries-free primary second molars: molars in exfoliation period (clinical group) and extracted molars (laboratory group). Class I cavities were prepared in all specimens leaving a flat dentin surface on the pulpal floor. A two-step etch-and-rinse adhesive was vigorously rubbed on either dry (n= 5) or wet demineralized dentin (n= 5) under clinical or laboratory conditions. After restorative procedures, the teeth from the clinical group were extracted after 20 minutes. All samples were processed and underwent microtensile bond strength test and silver nitrate uptake evaluation under scanning electron microscopy. Results: Statistically higher bond strength values were observed when the bonding was performed under laboratory conditions and on a wet demineralized dentin. Most of the failures were adhesive and mixed irrespective of the experimental condition. Silver nitrate uptake occurred in all groups irrespective of the experimental condition. Resin-dentin bond strengths produced in the laboratory in primary teeth may overestimate those produced under clinical circumstances. (Am J Dent 2011;24:221-225).

Public attitudes to the use of wildlife by Aboriginal Australians: Marketing of wildlife and its conservation

Indigenous Australians have socioeconomic attributes similar to those of residents in some developing countries. Their utilisation of wildlife could add to their economic opportunities. Attitudes of a sample of the Australian public towards the subsistence use of wildlife by Indigenous Australians and whether or not they should be allowed to sell wildlife and wildlife products are examined. Allowing such possibilities could provide economic incentives for nature conservation among local people. We explore whether those sampled believe that Indigenous Australians should do more than other groups and institutions to conserve Australia's tropical species, and whether or not they should be allowed to take common as well as endangered wildlife species for food. Attitudes of the sampled public towards Indigenous Australians earning income from trophy hunting and from the harvesting of northern long-necked turtles for the pet trade are canvassed. The possible conservation consequences of sale of wildlife by Indigenous Australians are discussed.

Are Teeth Close to the Cleft More Susceptible to Periodontal Disease?

Objective: To evaluate whether teeth close to the cleft area present higher prevalence and severity of periodontal disease than teeth in other regions. Design: Cross-sectional. Setting: Hospital for Rehabilitation of Craniofacial Anomalies, University of Sao Paulo. Patients: There were 400 Individuals with complete unilateral or bilateral cleft lip and palate, aged 15 to 49 years, without any previous periodontal treatment. Main Outcome Measures: All clinical parameters were evaluated in six sites for each tooth. The arithmetic means were calculated for each sextant. Results: Of the sextants, 86.75% presented means of probing depth smaller than or equal to 3 mm. No sextant exhibited means of probing depth greater than or equal to 6 mm. There was a statistically significant difference (p < .001) in probing depth according to age, types of cleft, and sextant; 95.87% of sextants presented mean attachment levels smaller than or equal to 3 mm, The sextant with cleft did not present higher means of probing depth, clinical attachment level, plaque index, and gingival index. There was gingival bleeding in 99.08% of the sample and plaque In 97.40%. The type of cleft was not an Important factor Influencing the prevalence of periodontal disease. Age seems to be an Important factor influencing the prevalence and severity of periodontal disease for all aspects Investigated. Conclusions: Periodontal disease In individuals with clefts occurred in a similar manner as observed in other populations. The presence of the cleft does not seem to Increase the prevalence of the disease.

Prevalence of Adverse Life Events, Depression and Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviour among a Community Sample of Young People aged 15-24 Years

Objective: To provide prevalence data on several key mental health indicators for young people aged 15 to 24 years. Methods: A cross-sectional household survey, using telephone recruitment followed by a postal pencil-and-paper questionnaire. The overall response rate was 67.3%. Results: Difficulties with interpersonal relationships are common causes of distress for young people, in particular problems with parents, problems with friends and relationship break-ups. Depressive symptomatology is common among young people with approximately one in eight males and one in four females reporting current depressive symptomatology. One in three young people reported that they had had suicidal thoughts at some time in the past, 1.2% of young people reported that they had made a plan on how to kill themselves in the four-week period prior to completing the survey and 6.9% of young people reported that they had tried to kill themselves at some time during their life time (4.2% of males and 9.0% of females). Conclusions and implications: The prevalence figures for the various mental health indicators presented in this paper represent good baseline information upon which to examine the progress over time of interventions designed to improve the mental health of young people.

Genetic and environmental contributions to educational attainment in Australia

The genetic and environmental contributions to educational attainment in Australia are examined using a multiple regression model drawn from the medical research literature. Data from a large sample of Australian twins are analysed. The findings indicate that at least as much as 50 percent and perhaps as much as 65 percent of the variance in educational attainments can be attributed to genetic endowments. It is suggested that only around 25 percent of the variance in educational attainments may be due to environmental factors, though this contribution is shown to be around 40 percent when adjustments for measurement error and assortative mating are made. The high fraction of the observed variation in educational attainments due to genetic differences is consistent with results reported by Heath et al. (Heath, A.C., Berg, K., Eaves, L.J., Solaas, M.H., Corey, L.A., Sundet, J., Magnus, P., Nance, W.E., 1985. Education policy and the heritability of educational attainment. Nature 314(6013), 734-736.), Tambs et al. (Tambs, K., Sundet, J.M., Magnus, P., Berg, K., 1989. Genetic and environmental contributions to the covariance between occupational status, educational attainment and IQ: a study of twins. Behavior Genetics 19(2), 209-222.), Vogler and Fulker (Vogler, G.P., Fulker, D.W., 1983. Familial resemblance for educational attainment. Behavior Generics 13(4), 341-354.) and Behrman and Taubman (Behrman, J., Taubman, P., 1989. Is schooling mostly in the genes? Nature-nurture decomposition using data on relatives. Journal of Political Economy 97(6), 1425-1446.), suggesting that the finding is robust. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Human twinning is not linked to the region of chromosome 4 syntenic with the sheep twinning gene FecB

The tendency to dizygotic (DZ) twinning is inherited in both humans and sheep, and a fecundity gene in sheep (FecB) maps to sheep chromosome 6, syntenic with human 4q21-25. Our aim was to see whether a gene predisposing to human DZ twinning mapped to this region. DNA was collected from 169 pairs and 17 sets of 3 sisters (trios) from Australia and New Zealand who had each had spontaneous DZ twins, mostly before the age of 35, and from a replication sample of 111 families (92 affected sister pairs) from The Netherlands. Exclusion mapping was carried out after typing 26 markers on chromosome 4, of which 8 spanned the region Likely to contain the human homologue of the sheep FecB gene. We used nonparametric affected sib pair methods for linkage analysis [ASPEX 2.2, Hinds and Risch, 1999]. Complete exclusion of linkage (lod < -2) of a gene conferring a relative risk for sibs as low as 1.5 ((s) > 1.5) was obtained for all but the p terminus region on chromosome 4. Exclusion in the syntenic region was stronger, down to lambda (s) = 1.3. We concluded that if there is a gene influencing DZ twinning on chromosome 4, its effect must be minor. (C) 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Matching prescription claims with medication data for nursing home residents: Implications for prescriber feedback, drug utilisation studies and selection of prescription claims database

Medication data retrieved from Australian Repatriation Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (RPBS) claims for 44 veterans residing in nursing homes and Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) claims for 898 nursing home residents were compared with medication data from nursing home records to determine the optimal time interval for retrieving claims data and its validity. Optimal matching was achieved using 12 weeks of RPBS claims data, with 60% of medications in the RPBS claims located in nursing home administration records, and 78% of medications administered to nursing home residents identified in RPBS claims. In comparison, 48% of medications administered to nursing home residents could be found in 12 weeks of PBS data, and 56% of medications present in PBS claims could be matched with nursing home administration records. RPBS claims data was superior to PBS, due to the larger number of scheduled items available to veterans and the veteran's file number, which acts as a unique identifier. These findings should be taken into account when using prescription claims data for medication histories, prescriber feedback, drug utilisation, intervention or epidemiological studies. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.

A sociolinguistic approach to applied epistemology: Examining technocratic values in global 'knowledge' policy

This special issue presents an excellent opportunity to study applied epistemology in public policy. This is an important task because the arena of public policy is the social domain in which macro conditions for ‘knowledge work’ and ‘knowledge industries’ are defined and created. We argue that knowledge-related public policy has become overly concerned with creating the politico-economic parameters for the commodification of knowledge. Our policy scope is broader than that of Fuller (1988), who emphasizes the need for a social epistemology of science policy. We extend our focus to a range of policy documents that include communications, science, education and innovation policy (collectively called knowledge-related public policy in acknowledgement of the fact that there is no defined policy silo called ‘knowledge policy’), all of which are central to policy concerned with the ‘knowledge economy’ (Rooney and Mandeville, 1998). However, what we will show here is that, as Fuller (1995) argues, ‘knowledge societies’ are not industrial societies permeated by knowledge, but that knowledge societies are permeated by industrial values. Our analysis is informed by an autopoietic perspective. Methodologically, we approach it from a sociolinguistic position that acknowledges the centrality of language to human societies (Graham, 2000). Here, what we call ‘knowledge’ is posited as a social and cognitive relationship between persons operating on and within multiple social and non-social (or, crudely, ‘physical’) environments. Moreover, knowing, we argue, is a sociolinguistically constituted process. Further, we emphasize that the evaluative dimension of language is most salient for analysing contemporary policy discourses about the commercialization of epistemology (Graham, in press). Finally, we provide a discourse analysis of a sample of exemplary texts drawn from a 1.3 million-word corpus of knowledge-related public policy documents that we compiled from local, state, national and supranational legislatures throughout the industrialized world. Our analysis exemplifies a propensity in policy for resorting to technocratic, instrumentalist and anti-intellectual views of knowledge in policy. We argue that what underpins these patterns is a commodity-based conceptualization of knowledge, which is underpinned by an axiology of narrowly economic imperatives at odds with the very nature of knowledge. The commodity view of knowledge, therefore, is flawed in its ignorance of the social systemic properties of ��knowing’.