The effect of seasonal temperature variation on behaviour and metabolism in the freshwater mussel (Unio tumidus)

Temperature plays a critical role in determining the biology of ectotherms. Many animals have evolved mechanisms that allow them to compensate biological rates, i.e. adjust biological rates to overcome thermodynamic effects. For low energy-organisms, such as bivalves, the costs of thermal compensation may be greater than the benefits, and thus prohibitive. To examine this, two experiments were designed to explore thermal compensation in Unio tumidus. Experiment 1 examined seasonal changes in behaviour in U. tumidus throughout a year. Temperature had a clear effect on burrowing rate with no evidence of compensation. Valve closure duration and frequency were also strongly affected by seasonal temperature change, but there was slight evidence of partial compensation. Experiment 2 examined oxygen consumption during burrowing, immediately following valve opening and at rest in summer (24 °C), autumn (14 °C), winter (4 °C), and spring (14 °C) acclimatized U. tumidus. Again, there was little evidence of burrowing rate compensation, but some evidence of partial compensation of valve closure duration and frequency. None of the oxygen compensation rates showed any evidence of thermal compensation. Thus, in general, there was only very limited evidence of thermal compensation of behaviour and no evidence of thermal compensation of oxygen compensation rates. Based upon this evidence, we argue that there is no evolutionary pressure for these bivalves to compensate these biological rates. Any pressure may be to maintain or even lower oxygen consumption as their only defence against predation is to close their valves and wait. An increase in oxygen consumption will be detrimental in this regard so the cost of thermal compensation may outweigh the benefits.

Drought avoidance and the effect of local topography on trees in the understorey of Bornean lowland rain forest

The water relations of two tree species in the Euphorbiaceae were compared to test in part a hypothesis that the forest understorey plays an integral role in drought response. At Danum, Sabah, the relatively common species Dimorphocalyx muricatus is associated with ridges whilst another species, Mallotus wrayi, occurs widely both on ridges and lower slopes. Sets of subplots within two 4 -ha permanent plots in this lowland dipterocarp rain forest, were positioned on ridges and lower slopes. Soil water potentials were recorded in 1995-1997, and leaf water potentials were measured on six occasions. Soil water potentials on the ridges (-0.047 MPa) were significantly lower than on the lower slopes (-0.012 MPa), but during the driest period in May 1997 they fell to similarly low levels on both sites (-0.53 MPa). A weighted 40-day accumulated rainfall index was developed to model the soil water potentials. At dry times, D. muricatus (ridge) had significantly higher pre-dawn (-0.21 v. -0.57 MPa) and mid-day (-0.59 v. -1.77 MPa) leaf water potentials than M. wrayi (mean of ridge and lower slope). Leaf osmotic potentials of M. wrayi on the ridges were lower (-1.63 MPa) than on lower slopes (-1.09 MPa), with those for D. muricatus being intermediate (-1.29 MPa): both species adjusted osmotically between wet and dry times. D. muricatus trees were more deeply rooted than M. wrayi trees (97 v. 70 cm). M. wrayi trees had greater lateral root cross-sectional areas than D. muricatus trees although a greater proportion of this sectional area for D. muricatus was further down the soil profile. D. muricatus appeared to maintain relatively high water potentials during dry periods because of its access to deeper water supplies and thus it largely avoided drought effects, but M. wrayi seemed to be more affected yet tolerant of drought and was more plastic in its response. The interaction between water availability and topography determines these species' distributions and provides insights into how rain forests can withstand occasional strong droughts.

Impacts of a word-picture training on literacy skills in elementary school children and youths with intellectual disabilities

Objective: There is convincing evidence that phonological, orthographic and semantic processes influence children’s ability to learn to read and spell words. So far only a few studies investigated the influence of implicit learning in literacy skills. Children are sensitive to the statistics of their learning environment. By frequent reading they acquire implicit knowledge about the frequency of letter patterns in written words, and they use this knowledge during reading and spelling. Additionally, semantic connections facilitate to storing of words in memory. Thus, the aim of the intervention study was to implement a word-picture training which is based on statistical and semantic learning. Furthermore, we aimed at examining the training effects in reading and spelling in comparison to an auditory-visual matching training and a working memory training program. Participants and Methods: One hundred and thirty-two children aged between 8 and 11 years participated in training in three weekly session of 12 minutes over 8 weeks, and completed other assessments of reading, spelling, working memory and intelligence before and after training. Results: Results revealed in general that the word-picture training and the auditory-visual matching training led to substantial gains in reading and spelling performance in comparison to the working-memory training. Although both children with and without learning difficulties profited in their reading and spelling after the word-picture training, the training program led to differential effects for the two groups. After the word-picture training on the one hand, children with learning difficulties profited more in spelling as children without learning difficulties, on the other hand, children without learning difficulties benefit more in word comprehension. Conclusions: These findings highlight the need for frequent reading trainings with semantic connections in order to support the acquisition of literacy skills.

FUS protein interacts with U7 snRNP and plays a role in replication-dependant histone genes expression

The U7 small nuclear ribonucleoprotein (U7 snRNP) is an essential factor mediating the unique 3’end processing of non-polyadenylated, replication-dependent histone mRNAs in metazoans. These histone genes expression and processing of their transcripts are cell cycle-regulated mechanisms that recruit a number of specific proteins as well as common factors required for expression and maturation of polyadenylated mRNAs. However, despite all the knowledge we have so far, there are still gaps in understanding of core histone RNA 3’ end processing, its coupling to transcription and regulation during cell cycle. To further elucidate this phenomena we used affinity chromatography based on tagged version of U7 snRNA molecule to identify proteins associated with U7 snRNP/U7 snRNA that could be potentially involved in core histone genes expression in human cells. Mass spectrometric analysis of affinity-purified fraction revealed, among others, multifunctional RNA/DNAbinding protein FUS/TLS (fused in sarcoma/translocated in liposarcoma) as a new factor interacting with U7 snRNA/RNP. Co-immunoprecipitation and RIP experiments confirmed the binding between FUS and the U7 RNA/snRNP. Interestingly, FUS:U7 snRNA interaction seems to be activated in S phase where the core histone genes are expressed. Moreover, FUS co-fractionates in 10-50% continuous glycerol gradient with other factors involved in histone premRNAs 3’end processing. However, this unique 3’end maturation was not disturbed upon FUS knockdown. Instead, we found that FUS depletion leads to a de-regulation of expression from selected histone promoters, suggesting that FUS is rather involved in regulation of core histone genes transcription. Thus, FUS bound to U7 snRNP can play a role in coupling between transcription and 3’end processing of replication dependant histone mRNAs.

Unconscious relational encoding depends on hippocampus

Textbooks divide between human memory systems based on consciousness. Hippocampus is thought to support only conscious encoding, while neocortex supports both conscious and unconscious encoding. We tested whether processing modes, not consciousness, divide between memory systems in three neuroimaging experiments with 11 amnesic patients (mean age = 45.55 years, standard deviation = 8.74, range = 23-60) and 11 matched healthy control subjects. Examined processing modes were single item versus relational encoding with only relational encoding hypothesized to depend on hippocampus. Participants encoded and later retrieved either single words or new relations between words. Consciousness of encoding was excluded by subliminal (invisible) word presentation. Amnesic patients and controls performed equally well on the single item task activating prefrontal cortex. But only the controls succeeded on the relational task activating the hippocampus, while amnesic patients failed as a group. Hence, unconscious relational encoding, but not unconscious single item encoding, depended on hippocampus. Yet, three patients performed normally on unconscious relational encoding in spite of amnesia capitalizing on spared hippocampal tissue and connections to language cortex. This pattern of results suggests that processing modes divide between memory systems, while consciousness divides between levels of function within a memory system.

Effects of meaning and symmetry on judgments of size

Research has shown that people judge words as having bigger font size than non-words. This finding has been interpreted in terms of processing fluency, with higher fluency leading to judgments of bigger size. If so, symmetric numbers (e.g., 44) which can be processed more fluently are predicted to be judged as larger than asymmetric numbers (e.g., 43). However, recent research found that symmetric numbers were judged to be smaller than asymmetric numbers. This finding suggests that the mechanisms underlying size judgments may differ in meaningful and meaningless materials. Supporting this notion, we showed in Experiment 1 that meaning increased judged size, whereas symmetry decreased judged size. In the next two experiments, we excluded several alternative explanations for the differences in size judgments between meaningful and meaningless materials in earlier studies. This finding contradicts the notion that the mechanism underlying judgments of size is processing fluency.

Cone beam computed tomography in implant dentistry: a systematic review focusing on guidelines, indications, and radiation dose risks.

PURPOSE The aim of the paper is to identify, review, analyze, and summarize available evidence in three areas on the use of cross-sectional imaging, specifically maxillofacial cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) in pre- and postoperative dental implant therapy: (1) Available clinical use guidelines, (2) indications and contraindications for use, and (3) assessment of associated radiation dose risk. MATERIALS AND METHODS Three focused questions were developed to address the aims. A systematic literature review was performed using a PICO-based search strategy based on MeSH key words specific to each focused question of English-language publications indexed in the MEDLINE database retrospectively from October 31, 2012. These results were supplemented by a hand search and gray literature search. RESULTS Twelve publications were identified providing guidelines for the use of cross-sectional radiography, particularly CBCT imaging, for the pre- and/or postoperative assessment of potential dental implant sites. The publications discovered by the PICO strategy (43 articles), hand (12), and gray literature searches (1) for the second focus question regarding indications and contraindications for CBCT use in implant dentistry were either cohort or case-controlled studies. For the third question on the assessment of associated radiation dose risk, a total of 22 articles were included. Publication characteristics and themes were summarized in tabular format. CONCLUSIONS The reported indications for CBCT use in implant dentistry vary from preoperative analysis regarding specific anatomic considerations, site development using grafts, and computer-assisted treatment planning to postoperative evaluation focusing on complications due to damage of neurovascular structures. Effective doses for different CBCT devices exhibit a wide range with the lowest dose being almost 100 times less than the highest dose. Significant dose reduction can be achieved by adjusting operating parameters, including exposure factors and reducing the field of view (FOV) to the actual region of interest.

Effect of irradiation distance on image contrast in epi-optoacoustic imaging of human volunteers

In combined clinical optoacoustic (OA) and ultrasound (US) imaging, epi-mode irradiation and detection integrated into one single probe offers flexible imaging of the human body. The imaging depth in epi-illumination is, however, strongly affected by clutter. As shown in previous phantom experiments, the location of irradiation plays an important role in clutter generation. We investigated the influence of the irradiation geometry on the local image contrast of clinical images, by varying the separation distance between the irradiated area and the acoustic imaging plane of a linear ultrasound transducer in an automated scanning setup. The results for different volunteers show that the image contrast can be enhanced on average by 25% and locally by more than a factor of two, when the irradiated area is slightly separated from the probe. Our findings have an important impact on the design of future optoacoustic probes for clinical application.

A retrospective comparative exploratory study on two methylentetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) polymorphisms in esophagogastric cancer: the A1298C MTHFR polymorphism is an independent prognostic factor only in neoadjuvantly treated gastric cancer patients.

BACKGROUND Methylentetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) plays a major role in folate metabolism and consequently could be an important factor for the efficacy of a treatment with 5-fluorouracil. Our aim was to evaluate the prognostic and predictive value of two well characterized constitutional MTHFR gene polymorphisms for primarily resected and neoadjuvantly treated esophagogastric adenocarcinomas. METHODS 569 patients from two centers were analyzed (gastric cancer: 218, carcinoma of the esophagogastric junction (AEG II, III): 208 and esophagus (AEG I): 143). 369 patients received neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by surgery, 200 patients were resected without preoperative treatment. The MTHFR C677T and A1298C polymorphisms were determined in DNA from peripheral blood lymphozytes. Associations with prognosis, response and clinicopathological factors were analyzed retrospectively within a prospective database (chi-square, log-rank, cox regression). RESULTS Only the MTHFR A1298C polymorphisms had prognostic relevance in neoadjuvantly treated patients but it was not a predictor for response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy. The AC genotype of the MTHFR A1298C polymorphisms was significantly associated with worse outcome (p = 0.02, HR 1.47 (1.06-2.04). If neoadjuvantly treated patients were analyzed based on their tumor localization, the AC genotype of the MTHFR A1298C polymorphisms was a significant negative prognostic factor in patients with gastric cancer according to UICC 6th edition (gastric cancer including AEG type II, III: HR 2.0, 95% CI 1.3-2.0, p = 0.001) and 7th edition (gastric cancer without AEG II, III: HR 2.8, 95% CI 1.5-5.7, p = 0.003), not for AEG I. For both definitions of gastric cancer the AC genotype was confirmed as an independent negative prognostic factor in cox regression analysis. In primarily resected patients neither the MTHFR A1298C nor the MTHFR C677T polymorphisms had prognostic impact. CONCLUSIONS The MTHFR A1298C polymorphisms was an independent prognostic factor in patients with neoadjuvantly treated gastric adenocarcinomas (according to both UICC 6th or 7th definitions for gastric cancer) but not in AEG I nor in primarily resected patients, which confirms the impact of this enzyme on chemotherapy associated outcome.

Impacts of a word-picture training on reading in youth with mixed intellectual disabilities. A waiting-list control group comparison

Individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID) often struggle with learning how to read. Reading difficulties seem to be the most common secondary condition of ID. Only one in five children with mild or moderate ID achieves even minimal literacy skills. However, literacy education for children and adolescents with ID has been largely overlooked by researchers and educators. While there is little research on reading of children with ID, many training studies have been conducted with other populations with reading difficulties. The most common approach of acquiring literacy skills consists of sophisticated programs that train phonological skills and auditory perception. Only few studies investigated the influence of implicit learning on literacy skills. Implicit learning processes seem to be largely independent of age and IQ. Children are sensitive to the statistics of their learning environment. By frequent word reading they acquire implicit knowledge about the frequency of single letters and letter patterns in written words. Additionally, semantic connections not only improve the word understanding, but also facilitate storage of words in memory. Advances in communication technology have introduced new possibilities for remediating literacy skills. Computers can provide training material in attractive ways, for example through animations and immediate feedback .These opportunities can scaffold and support attention processes central to learning. Thus, the aim of this intervention study was to develop and implement a computer based word-picture training, which is based on statistical and semantic learning, and to examine the training effects on reading, spelling and attention in children and adolescents (9-16 years) diagnosed with mental retardation (general IQ  74). Fifty children participated in four to five weekly training sessions of 15-20 minutes over 4 weeks, and completed assessments of attention, reading, spelling, short-term memory and fluid intelligence before and after training. After a first assessment (T1), the entire sample was divided in a training group (group A) and a waiting control group (group B). After 4 weeks of training with group A, a second assessment (T2) was administered with both training groups. Afterwards, group B was trained for 4 weeks, before a last assessment (T3) was carried out in both groups. Overall, the results showed that the word-picture training led to substantial gains on word decoding and attention for both training groups. These effects were preserved six weeks later (group A). There was also a clear tendency of improvement in spelling after training for both groups, although the effect did not reach significance. These findings highlight the fact that an implicit statistical learning training in a playful way by motivating computer programs can not only promote reading development, but also attention in children with intellectual disabilities.

On the similarity of Sturm-Liouville operators with non-Hermitian boundary conditions to self-adjoint and normal operators

We consider one-dimensional Schrödinger-type operators in a bounded interval with non-self-adjoint Robin-type boundary conditions. It is well known that such operators are generically conjugate to normal operators via a similarity transformation. Motivated by recent interests in quasi-Hermitian Hamiltonians in quantum mechanics, we study properties of the transformations and similar operators in detail. In the case of parity and time reversal boundary conditions, we establish closed integral-type formulae for the similarity transformations, derive a non-local self-adjoint operator similar to the Schrödinger operator and also find the associated “charge conjugation” operator, which plays the role of fundamental symmetry in a Krein-space reformulation of the problem.

The structure of the debate on EU integration issues. A comparative analysis of party communication in the EP 2014 elections

The results of Eurosceptic parties in the recent European parliament election provide further evidence that the “permissive consensus” on European integration blurred. This paper focuses on the structure of the debate on EU integration issues. Which EU integration issues and positions do parties put forward? Can the debate on EU integration issues be subsumed in one or several dimensions? Do they reflect national political conflicts such as the left-right and the ‘new politics’/cultural divide? Or do they form one unique or several EU-specific dimensions, e.g. national sovereignty versus integration? In order to address these questions, this paper departs from the assumption that debate on European integration is multidimensional in its nature and therefore entails a multitude of issue areas. In other words, it does not look at how socio-economic and cultural issues are related to European integration but focuses on its components, i.e. particular EU-specific policies such as EU-wide employment, environment, immigration and monetary policy. The paper departs from the cleavage theory on political di-visions and different approaches transferring them to EU politics. Two points should be noted; first, this paper does not compare the debate on European integration issues between the national level and the EU level, but whether domestic divisions are reflected at the EU level. Second, it is not concerned with the general ideo-logical profile of political parties on EU integration issues, but on EU issues that parties communicated through press releases. By doing this, the paper is concerned with the salient EU issues that parties touch upon.

The role of climate-driven chemical weathering on soil production

Climate plays an important role in controlling rates of weathering and weathered regolith production. Regolith production functions, however, seldom take climate parameters into account. Based on a climate-dependent weathered regolith production model, at low denudation rates, relative regolith thicknesses are less sensitive to changes in precipitation rates, while at high denudation rates, small changes in climatic parameters can result in complete stripping of hillslopes. This pattern is compounded by the long residence times and system response times associated with low denudation rates, and vice versa. As others have shown, the transition between regolith-mantled and bedrock slopes is dependent on the ratio of denudation to production. Here, we further suggest that this is itself a function of precipitation rate and temperature. We suggest that climatic parameters can be easily incorporated into existing soil production models and that such additions improve the predictive power of soil production models. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effects of opioids on human serotonin transporters.

The serotonin (5-hydroxtryptamine, 5-HT) system plays a role in analgesia and emesis. The aim of this study was to test whether opioids or ketamine inhibit the human 5-HT transporter and whether this increases free plasma 5-HT concentrations. HEK293 cells, stably transfected with the human 5-HT transporter cDNA, were incubated with morphine, hydromorphone, fentanyl, alfentanil, pethidine (meperidine), tramadol, ketamine, and the reference substance citalopram (specific 5-HT transporter inhibitor). The uptake of [(3)H]5-HT was measured by liquid scintillation counting. In a second series of experiments, study drugs were incubated with plasma of ten healthy blood donors and change of 5-HT plasma-concentrations were measured (ELISA). The end point was the inhibition of the 5-HT transporter by different analgesics either in HEK293 cells or in human platelets ex vivo. Tramadol, pethidine, and ketamine suppressed [(3)H]5-HT uptake dose-dependently with an IC50 of 1, 20.9, and 230 μM, respectively. These drugs also prevented 5-HT uptake in platelets with an increase in free plasma 5-HT. Free 5-HT concentrations in human plasma were increased by citalopram 1 μM, tramadol 20 μM, pethidine 30 μM, and ketamine 100 μM to 280 [248/312]%, 269 [188/349]%, and 149 [122/174]%, respectively, compared to controls without any co-incubation (means [95 % CI]; all p < 0.005). No change in both experimental settings was observed for the other opioids. Tramadol and pethidine inhibited the 5-HT transporter in HEK293 cells and platelets. This inhibition may contribute to serotonergic effects when these opioids are given in combination, e.g., with monoamine oxidase inhibitors or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors.