Holocene environmental changes in northeast Thailand as reconstructed from a tropical wetland

Geochemical variables (TOC, C/N, TS, delta C-13) and diatom assemblages were analyzed in a lake sediment sequence from Nong (Lake) Han Kumphawapi in northeast Thailand to reconstruct regional climatic and environmental history during the Holocene. By around c. 10,000-9400 cal yr BP, a large shallow freshwater lake had formed in the Kumphawapi basin. Oxygenated bottom waters and a well-mixed water column were characteristic of this early lake stage, which was probably initiated by higher effective moisture and a stronger summer monsoon. Decreased run-off after c. 6700 cal yr BP favored increased aquatic productivity in the shallow lake. Multiple proxies indicate a marked lowering of the lake level around 5900 cal yr BP, the development of an extensive wetland around 5400 cal yr BP, and the subsequent transition to a peatland. The shift from shallow lake to wetland and later to a peatland is interpreted as a response to lower effective moisture. A hiatus at the transition from wetland to peatland suggests very low accumulation rates, which may result from very dry climatic conditions. A rise in groundwater and lake level around 3200 cal yr BP allowed the re-establishment of a wetland in the Kumphawapi basin. However, the sediments deposited between c. 3200 and 1600 cal yr BP provide evidence for at least two hiatuses at c. 2700-2500 cal yr BP, and at c. 1900-1600 cal yr BP, which would suggest surface dryness and consequently periods of low effective moisture. Around 1600 cal yr BP a new shallow lake became re-established in the basin. Although the underlying causes for this new lake phase remain unclear, we hypothesize that higher effective moisture was the main driving force. This shallow lake phase continued up to the present but was interrupted by higher nutrient fluxes to the lake around 1000-600 cal yr BP. Whether this was caused by intensified human impact in the catchment or, whether this signals a lowering of the lake level due to reduced effective moisture, needs to be corroborated by further studies in the region. The multi-proxy study of Kumphawapi's sediment core CP3A clearly shows that Kumphawapi is a sensitive archive for recording past shifts in effective moisture, and as such in the intensity of the Asian summer monsoon. Many more continental paleorecords, however, will be needed to fully understand the spatial and temporal patterns of past changes in Asian monsoon intensity and its ecosystem impacts. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Identification of a suitable sterilisation method for collagen derived from a marine Demosponge

Collagen is widely used as a biomedical material, and its importance is likely to grow as research and understanding progresses in this field. As a biomedical material, ensuring the sterility of collagen before use as, or incorporation into, a medical device is paramount. However, common sterilisation techniques can induce changes in the physical structure and protein chemistry of collagen, potentially affecting the performance. In this preliminary study, the influence of autoclaving, gamma irradiation and ethylene oxide gas sterilisation on the denaturation temperature and helical content of the collagen was evaluated using differential scanning calorimetry and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Early results indicate that all sterilisation techniques affect collagen properties but suggest that the least damaging of the techniques investigated was y irradiation.

Reducing the psychological distress of family caregivers of home-based palliative care patients: short-term effects from a randomised controlled trial

BACKGROUND: Palliative care is expected to incorporate comprehensive support for family caregivers given that many caregivers suffer psychological morbidity. However, systematically implemented evidence-based psychological support initiatives are lacking.
AIM: The objective of this study was to prepare caregivers for the role of supporting a patient with advanced cancer receiving home-based palliative care by offering a one-to-one psycho-educational intervention. We hypothesised that primary family caregivers who participated in the intervention would report decreased psychological distress (primary outcome), fewer unmet needs and increased levels of perceived preparedness, competence and positive emotions.
METHODS: A three-arm randomised controlled trial was conducted comparing two versions of the intervention (one face-to-face visit versus two visits) plus standard care to a control group (standard care) across four sites in Australia.
RESULTS: A total of 298 participants were recruited; 148 were in the Control condition, 57 in Intervention 1 (one visit) and 93 in Intervention 2 (two visits). Relative to participants in the control group; the psychological well-being of participants in the intervention condition was improved by a small amount but non-significantly. No significant reduction in unmet needs or improvements in positive aspects of caregiving amongst the intervention group were identified. However, the intervention demonstrated significant improvements in participants' levels of preparedness and competence for Intervention 2.
CONCLUSION/IMPLICATIONS: This research adds to accumulating body of evidence demonstrating that relatively short psycho-educational interventions can enable family caregivers to feel more prepared and competent in the role of supporting a dying relative. Further investigation is required to determine the longer term outcomes of such interventions. 

Mitomycin-C supplemented trabeculectomy, phacoemulsification, and foldable lens implantation

Purpose: To evaluate the outcome of combined mitomycin-C filtering surgery, phacoemulsification, and foldable intraocular lens (IOL) implantation. Setting: Wills Eye Hospital, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. Methods: This retrospective study evaluated 182 eyes of 174 patients who had combined mitomycin-C trabeculectomy, phacoemulsification, and insertion of a foldable IOL through a 3.5 mm incision. Success of the combined procedure was defined as intraocular pressure (IOP) below 21 mm Hg, with or without medications, and no serious complication. Success rates were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier actuarial method. Results: Mean follow-up was 16.7 months ± 5.4 (SD). The probability of success at 6, 12, 18, and 24 months was 98.3, 95.6, 90.6, and 88.0%, respectively. When compared with preoperativety, visual acuity improved one or more lines in 148 eyes (81.3%) and worsened one or more lines in 15 (8.2%); 111 eyes (61.0%) achieved visual acuity of 20/40 or better. The most frequent complication was posterior capsule opacification requiring capsulotomy, which occurred in 22 cases (12.0%). Conclusion: The 1 year and 2 year IOP control rate of combined mitomycin-C filtering procedures and phacoemulsification in glaucoma patients was high.

Biomonitoring of polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) pollution: A field study

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and cytochrome P450 enzyme activities were investigated in European eels (Anguilla anguilla) collected from seven sites in a coastal lagoon in the north-western Mediterranean Sea, Orbetello lagoon (Italy). Twelve PBDE congeners were measured in muscle and two CYP1A enzyme activities, 7-ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD) and benzo(a)pyrene monooxygenase (BP (a)PMO), were investigated in liver microsomal fraction in order to obtain insights into the health of the lagoon environment. PBDE muscle levels were low and the most abundant congeners were 2,2',4,4'-tetrabronnodiphenylether (BDE-47), 2,2',4,4',5,5'-hexaBDE (BDE-153) and 2,2',4,5'-tetraBDE (BDE-49). EROD and B(a)PMO activities were also low and no differences were observed between eels from different sites. Multivariate analysis (PCA) did not indicate correlations between PBDEs and either P450 activities. (c) 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

An Evidential Approach to Query Interface Matching on the Deep Web

Matching query interfaces is a crucial step in data integration across multiple Web databases. The problem is closely related to schema matching that typically exploits different features of schemas. Relying on a particular feature of schemas is not suffcient. We propose an evidential approach to combining multiple matchers using Dempster-Shafer theory of evidence. First, our approach views the match results of an individual matcher as a source of evidence that provides a level of confidence on the validity of each candidate attribute correspondence. Second, it combines multiple sources of evidence to get a combined mass function that represents the overall level of confidence, taking into account the match results of different matchers. Our combination mechanism does not require use of weighing parameters, hence no setting and tuning of them is needed. Third, it selects the top k attribute correspondences of each source attribute from the target schema based on the combined mass function. Finally it uses some heuristics to resolve any conflicts between the attribute correspondences of different source attributes. Our experimental results show that our approach is highly accurate and effective.

Reducing the psychological distress of family caregivers of home based palliative care patients: Longer term effects from a randomised controlled trial.

Background: Palliative care incorporates comprehensive support of family caregivers because many of them experience burden and distress. However, evidence-based support initiatives are few.

Purpose: We evaluated a one-to-one psychoeducational intervention aimed at mitigating the distress of caregivers of patients with advanced cancer receiving home-based palliative care. We hypothesised that caregivers would report decreased distress as assessed by the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ).

Method: A randomised controlled trial comparing two versions of the delivery of the intervention (one face-to-face home visit plus telephone calls versus two visits) plus standard care to a control group (standard care only) across four sites in Australia.

Results: Recruitment to the one visit condition was 57, the two visit condition 93, and the control 148. We previously reported non-significant changes in distress between times 1 (baseline) and 2 (1-week post-intervention) but significant gains in competence and preparedness. We report here changes in distress between times 1 and 3 (8-week post-death). There was significantly less worsening in distress between times 1 and 3 in the one visit intervention group than in the control group; however, no significant difference was found between the two visit intervention and the control group.

Conclusions: These results are consistent with the aim of the intervention, and they support existing evidence demonstrating that relatively short psychoeducational interventions can help family caregivers who are supporting a dying relative. The sustained benefit during the bereavement period may also have positive resource implications, which should be the subject of future inquiry. © 2014 The Authors. Psycho-Oncology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Genetic and genomic analyses of musculoskeletal differences between BEH and BEL strains

Berlin high (BEH) and Berlin low (BEL) strains selected for divergent growth differ 3-fold in body weight. We aimed at examining muscle mass, which is a major contributor to body weight, by exploring anatomical characteristics of the soleus muscle, its fiber numbers and their cross sectional area (CSA), by analysing transcriptome of the gastrocnemius and by initiating quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping. BEH muscles were 4-to-8 times larger compared to BEL strain. In sub-strain BEH+/+, mutant myostatin was replaced with a wild type allele, however, BEH+/+muscles still were 2-to-4 times larger compared to the BEL strain. BEH soleus contained 2-times more (P<0.0001) and 2-times larger in CSA (P<0.0001) fibers compared to BEL strain. In addition, soleus femoral attachment anomaly (SFAA) was observed in all BEL mice. One significant (chromosome 1) and four suggestive (chromosomes 3, 4, 6 and 9) muscle weight QTLs were mapped in 21-day old F2 intercross (n=296) between BEH and BEL strains. The frequency of SFAA incidence in the F2 and in the backcross to BEL strain (BCL) suggested the presence of more than one causative gene. Two suggestive SFAA QTLs were mapped in BCL, however, their peak markers were not associated with the phenotype in F2. RNA-Seq analysis revealed 2,148 differentially expressed (P<0.1) genes and 45,673 SNPs and >2,000 indels between BEH+/+ and BEL males. In conclusion, contrasting muscle traits, genomic and gene expression differences between BEH and BEL strains provide a promising model for the search of genes involved in muscle growth and musculoskeletal morphogenesis.

Increased coated-platelet levels in chronic haemodialysis patients

To determine if levels of coated-platelets, which are potentially pro-thrombotic, are increased in end-stage renal disease patients on haemodialysis, a condition associated with high cardiovascular disease risk.

Increased methionine sulfoxide content of apoA-I in type 1 diabetes

Cardiovascular disease is a major cause of morbidity and premature mortality in diabetes. HDL plays an important role in limiting vascular damage by removing cholesterol and cholesteryl ester hydroperoxides from oxidized low density lipoprotein and foam cells. Methionine (Met) residues in apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I), the major apolipoprotein of HDL, reduce peroxides in HDL lipids, forming methionine sulfoxide [Met(O)]. We examined the extent and sites of Met(O) formation in apoA-I of HDL isolated from plasma of healthy control and type 1 diabetic subjects to assess apoA-I exposure to lipid peroxides and the status of oxidative stress in the vascular compartment in diabetes. Three tryptic peptides of apoA-I contain Met residues: Q(84)-M(86)-K(88), W(108)-M(112)-R(116), and L(144)-M(148)-R(149). These peptides and their Met(O) analogs were identified and quantified by mass spectrometry. Relative to controls, Met(O) formation was significantly increased at all three locations (Met(86), Met(112), and Met(148)) in diabetic patients. The increase in Met(O) in the diabetic group did not correlate with other biomarkers of oxidative stress, such as N(epsilon)-malondialdehyde-lysine or N(epsilon)-(carboxymethyl)lysine, in plasma or lipoproteins. The higher Met(O) content in apoA-I from diabetic patients is consistent with increased levels of lipid peroxidation products in plasma in diabetes. Using the methods developed here, future studies can address the relationship between Met(O) in apoA-I and the risk, development, or progression of the vascular complications of diabetes.

Galactokinases: potential biotechnological applications as biocatalysts

Galactokinase, a member of the GHMP (galactokinase, homoserine kinase, mevalonate kinase, phosphomevalonate kinase) family of kinases, catalyses the ATP-dependent phosphorylation of galactose at position 1 on the sugar. This reaction is important in the Leloir pathway of galactose catabolism. The need to produce monosaccharides phosphorylated at position 1 for the synthesis of complex molecules, including aminoglycoside antibiotics, has stimulated interest in exploiting the catalytic potential of galactokinases. However, the enzyme is quite specific, generally only catalysing the phosphorylation of D-galactose and closely related molecules. Directed evolution strategies have identified a key tyrosine residue (Tyr-371 in the Escherichia coli enzyme) which, although distant from the active site, influences the specificity of the enzyme. Alteration of this residue to histidine in E. coli and Lactococcus lactis galactokinases dramatically expanded the substrate range to include both D- and L-sugars. Similar experiments with the human enzyme demonstrated that alteration of the equivalent tyrosine (Tyr-379) to cysteine, lysine, arginine, serine or tryptophan increased the catalytic promiscuity of the enzyme. It has been hypothesised that these specificity changes arise because of alterations in the flexibility of the polypeptide chain. This hypothesis has yet to be tested experimentally. The biotechnological potential of galactokinases is clearly considerable and exploitation of closely related enzymes such as N-acetylgalactosamine kinase and arabinose kinase would expand that potential still further.