Gender distribution of suicide attempts among immigrant groups in European countries--an international perspective

Studies report high rates of suicide attempts for female immigrants. This study assesses variations in the distribution of suicide attempts across gender in immigrant and non-immigrant groups in Europe.

Distribution of muscarinic receptor subtypes and interstitial cells of Cajal in the gastrointestinal tract of healthy dairy cows

OBJECTIVE: To describe the distribution of muscarinic receptor subtypes M(1) to M(5) and interstitial cells of Cajal (ICCs) in the gastrointestinal tract of healthy dairy cows. SAMPLE POPULATION: Full-thickness samples were collected from the fundus, corpus, and pyloric part of the abomasum and from the duodenum, ileum, cecum, proximal loop of the ascending colon, and both external loops of the spiral colon of 5 healthy dairy cows after slaughter. PROCEDURES: Samples were fixed in paraformaldehyde and embedded in paraffin. Muscarinic receptor subtypes and ICCs were identified by immunohistochemical analysis. RESULTS: Staining for M(1) receptors was found in the submucosal plexus and myenteric plexus. Antibodies against M(2) receptors stained nuclei of smooth muscle cells only. Evidence of M(3) receptors was found in the lamina propria, in intramuscular neuronal terminals, on intermuscular nerve fibers, and on myocytes of microvessels. There was no staining for M(4) receptors. Staining for M(5) receptors was evident in the myocytes of microvessels and in smooth muscle cells. The ICCs were detected in the myenteric plexus and within smooth muscle layers. Distribution among locations of the bovine gastrointestinal tract did not differ for muscarinic receptor subtypes or ICCs. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: The broad distribution of M(1), M(3), M(5), and ICCs in the bovine gastrointestinal tract indicated that these components are likely to play an important role in the regulation of gastrointestinal tract motility in healthy dairy cows. Muscarinic receptors and ICCs may be implicated in the pathogenesis of motility disorders, such as abomasal displacement and cecal dilatation-dislocation.

Distribution of mRNA coding for 5-hydroxytryptamine receptor subtypes in the intestines of healthy dairy cows and dairy cows with cecal dilatation-dislocation

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the distribution of mRNA coding for 7 subtypes of 5-hydroxytryptamine receptors (5-HTRs) in the intestines of healthy dairy cows and dairy cows with cecal dilatation-dislocation (CDD). SAMPLE POPULATION: Full-thickness intestinal wall biopsy specimens were obtained from the ileum, cecum, proximal loop of the ascending colon, and external loop of the spiral colon (ELSC) of 15 cows with CDD (group 1) and 15 healthy dairy cows allocated to 2 control groups (specimens collected during routine laparotomy [group 2] or after cows were slaughtered [group 3]). PROCEDURE: Amounts of mRNA coding for 7 subtypes of 5-HTRs (5-HT1A, 5-HT1B, 5-HT1D, 5-HT1F, 5-HT2A, 5-HT2B, and 5-HT4) were measured by quantitative real-time reverse transcriptase-PCR assay. Results were expressed as the percentage of mRNA expression of a housekeeping gene. RESULTS: Expression of mRNA coding for 5-HTR1B, 5-HTR2B, and 5-HTR4 was significantly lower in cows with CDD than in healthy cows. For 5-HTR2B and 5-HTR4, significant differences between cows with CDD and control cows were most pronounced for the ELSC. Expression of mRNA for 5-HTR1D, 5-HTR1F, and 5-HTR2A was extremely low in all groups, and mRNA for 5-HTR1A was not detected. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Relative concentrations of mRNA coding for 5-HTR1B, 5-HT2B, and 5-HTR4 were significantly lower in the intestines of cows with CDD than in the intestines of healthy dairy cows, especially for 5-HT2B and 5-HTR4 in the ELSC. This supports the hypothesis that serotonergic mechanisms, primarily in the spiral colon, are implicated in the pathogenesis of CDD.

Detection and distribution of apoptotic cell death in normal and diseased canine cranial cruciate ligaments

One of the possible initiating factors in canine cranial cruciate ligament (CCL) rupture could be an abnormal pattern of ligament cell death. This study compared apoptotic cell death in sections of ruptured CCLs and normal controls, and examined nitric oxide (NO) production in joint tissues and correlated this to apoptosis. CCLs and cartilage from the lateral femoral condyle were harvested from 10 healthy dogs and 15 dogs with CCL rupture and ligaments were further processed to detect cleaved caspase-3 and to determine supernatant NO production in explant cultures. Apoptotic activity was greater in ruptured ligaments compared to controls. NO in ligaments showed a moderate but significant positive correlation with caspase-positive cells. The results suggest that increased apoptosis has a role in CCL rupture and that apoptosis may be influenced by local NO production.

Distribution of RTX toxin genes in strains of [Actinobacillus] rossii and [Pasteurella] mairii

Strains of [Actinobacillus] rossii, [Pasteurella] mairii and [Pasteurella] aerogenes can be isolated from abortion in swine. The RTX toxin Pax has previously been found only in those [P.] aerogenes strains isolated from abortion. Nothing is known about RTX toxins in field isolates of the other two species. To gain insight into the distribution of selected RTX toxin genes and their association with abortion, PCR screening for the pax, apxII and apxIII operons on 21 [A.] rossii and seven [P.] mairii isolates was done. Since species can be phenotypically misidentified, the study was backed up by a phylogenetic analysis of all strains based on 16S rRNA, rpoB and infB genes. The pax gene was detected in all [P.] mairii but not in [A.] rossii strains. No apx genes were found in [P.] mairii but different gene combinations for apx were detected in [A.] rossii strains. Most of these strains were positive for apxIII, either alone or in combination with apxII. Whereas pax was found to be associated to strains from abortion no such indication could be found with apx in [A.] rossii strains. Phylogenetically [A.] rossii strains formed a heterogeneous cluster separated from Actinobacillus sensu stricto. [P.] mairii strains clustered with [P.] aerogenes but forming a separate branch. The fact that [P.] aerogenes, [P.] mairii and [A.] rossii can phylogenetically clearly be identified and might contain distinct RTX toxin genes allows their proper diagnosis and will further help to investigate their role as pathogens.

Toward the Equitable Distribution of Enriching Educational Experiences: Faculty Engagement with Racial Minority Students

Peña, Bensimon, and Colyar (2006) noted: “Not only do African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans have lower graduation rates than [do] Whites and Asian Americans, they also experience inequalities in just about every indicator of academic success – from earned grade point average to placement on the dean’s list to graduation rates in competitive majors” (p. 48). While these and other racialized outcomes disparities cannot be attributed to a narrow set of explanatory factors, one thing is known for sure: College students who are actively engaged inside and outside the classroom are considerably more likely than are their disengaged peers to persist through baccalaureate degree attainment. Furthermore, engaged students typically accrue the desired outcomes that are central to liberal education. This is especially true for engagement in what Kuh (2008) refers to as “high-impact” educational experiences – study abroad programs, learning communities, undergraduate research programs, service learning opportunities, and summer internships, to name a few. Unfortunately, racial minority undergraduates are considerably less likely than are their White peers to enjoy the educational benefits associated with these experiences.

Prevalence, incidence and distribution of erosion

There is some evidence that the presence of erosion is growing steadily. Because of different scoring systems, samples and examiners, it is difficult to compare and judge the outcome of the studies. Preschool children aged between 2 and 5 years showed erosion on deciduous teeth in 6-50% of the subjects. Young schoolchildren (aged 5-9) already had erosive lesions on permanent teeth in 14% of the cases. In the adolescent group (aged between 9 and 17) 11-100% of the young people examined showed signs of erosion. Incidence data (= increase of subjects with erosion) evaluated in three of these studies were 12% over 2 years, 18% over 5 years and 27% over 1.5 years. In adults (aged between 18 and 88), prevalence data ranged between 4 and 82%. Incidence data are scarce; only one study was found and this showed an incidence of 5% for the younger and 18% for the older examined group (= increase of tooth surfaces with erosion). Prevalence data indicated that males had somewhat more erosive tooth wear than females. The distribution of erosion showed a predominance of occlusal surfaces (especially mandibular first molars), followed by facial surfaces (anterior maxillary teeth). Oral erosion was frequently found on maxillary incisors and canines. Overall, prevalence data are not homogeneous. Nevertheless, there is already a trend for more pronounced rate of erosion in younger age groups. Therefore, it is important to detect at-risk patients early to initiate adequate preventive measures.

Distribution of the glutamate transporters GLT-1 (SLC1A2) and GLAST (SLC1A3) in peripheral organs

The glutamate transporters GLT-1 and GLAST are widely expressed in astrocytes in the brain where they fulfill important functions during glutamatergic neurotransmission. The present study examines their distribution in peripheral organs using in situ hybridization (ISH) and immunocytochemistry. GLAST was found to be more widely distributed than GLT-1. GLAST was expressed primarily in epithelial cells, cells of the macrophage-lineage, lymphocytes, fat cells, interstitial cells, and salivary gland acini. GLT-1 was primarily expressed in glandular tissue, including mammary gland, lacrimal gland, and ducts and acini in salivary glands, but also by perivenous hepatocytes and follicular dendritic cells in spleen and lymph nodes. The findings demonstrate that, although expressed by the same cells in the brain, these two glutamate transporters have different distribution patterns in peripheral tissues and that they fulfill glutamate transport functions apart from glutamatergic neurotransmission in these areas.

Model Evaluation Based on the Distribution of Estimated Absolute Prediction Error

The construction of a reliable, practically useful prediction rule for future response is heavily dependent on the "adequacy" of the fitted regression model. In this article, we consider the absolute prediction error, the expected value of the absolute difference between the future and predicted responses, as the model evaluation criterion. This prediction error is easier to interpret than the average squared error and is equivalent to the mis-classification error for the binary outcome. We show that the distributions of the apparent error and its cross-validation counterparts are approximately normal even under a misspecified fitted model. When the prediction rule is "unsmooth", the variance of the above normal distribution can be estimated well via a perturbation-resampling method. We also show how to approximate the distribution of the difference of the estimated prediction errors from two competing models. With two real examples, we demonstrate that the resulting interval estimates for prediction errors provide much more information about model adequacy than the point estimates alone.

Diversity in neuroanatomical distribution of abnormal prion protein in atypical scrapie

Scrapie is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) in sheep and goats. In recent years, atypical scrapie cases were identified that differed from classical scrapie in the molecular characteristics of the disease-associated pathological prion protein (PrP(sc)). In this study, we analyze the molecular and neuropathological phenotype of nine Swiss TSE cases in sheep and goats. One sheep was identified as classical scrapie, whereas six sheep, as well as two goats, were classified as atypical scrapie. The latter revealed a uniform electrophoretic mobility pattern of the proteinase K-resistant core fragment of PrP(sc) distinct from classical scrapie regardless of the genotype, the species, and the neuroanatomical structure. Remarkably different types of neuroanatomical PrP(sc) distribution were observed in atypical scrapie cases by both western immunoblotting and immunohistochemistry. Our findings indicate that the biodiversity in atypical scrapie is larger than expected and thus impacts on current sampling and testing strategies in small ruminant TSE surveillance.

Taxonomic position and geographical distribution of the common sheep G1 and camel G6 strains of Echinococcus granulosus in three African countries

The taxonomic and phylogenetic status of Echinococcus granulosus strains are still controversial and under discussion. In the present study, we investigated the genetic polymorphism of E. granulosus isolates originating from three countries of Africa, including a region of Algeria, where the common G1 sheep and the camel G6 strains coexist sympatrically. Seventy-one hydatid cysts were collected from sheep, cattle, camels, and humans. Two mitochondrial markers (cox1 and nad1) were used for strain identification. Two nuclear markers (actII and hbx2) were used to study the possible occurrence of cross-fertilization. Despite the heterogeneity observed among the G1 isolates, they were all localized within one robust cluster. A second strong cluster was also observed containing all of the G6 isolates. Both strains appeared as two distinct groups, and no cases of interbreeding were found. Thus, the attribution of a species rank can be suggested. We also found the Tasmanian sheep G2 strain for the first time in Africa. Because of the slight variations observed between the common sheep and the Tasmanian sheep strains, further studies should be carried out to elucidate the epidemiological relevance of this genetic discrimination.