Early Diagnosis of Neurodegenerative Diseases – The Long Awaited Holy Grail and Bottleneck of Modern Brain Research – 19th HUPO BPP Workshop

The HUPO Brain Proteome Project (HUPO BPP) held its 19th workshop in Dortmund, Germany, from May 22 to 24, 2013. The focus of the spring workshop was on strategies and developments concerning early diagnosis of neurodegenerative diseases     

Frontiers in Neurodegeneration – New Insights and Prospects – 20th HUPO BPP Workshop

The HUPO Brain Proteome Project (HUPO BPP) held its 20th workshop in Yokohama, Japan, September 15, 2013. The focus of the autumn workshop was on new insights and prospects of neurodegenerative diseases.     

Key players in neurodegenerative disorders in focus—New insights into the proteomic profile of Alzheimer's disease,schizophrenia, ALS,and multiple sclerosis—24th HUPO BPP Workshop

The HUPO Brain Proteome Project (HUPO BPP) held its 24th workshop in Vancouver, Canada, September 29, 2015. The focus of the autumn workshop was on new insights into the proteomic profile of Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, ALS and multiple sclerosis.     

Time Making and Place Making: A Journey of Immigration from Ethiopia to Israel

ABSTRACT

Anthropological studies of immigration usually focus on the immigrants’ country of origin or their destination. The present ethnographic study is a claim that the immigration experience must be examined as part of a journey and movement. The study was designed to show how the immigration process of Zera Beita Israel (Feres Mura) from Ethiopia to Israel is constructed on a process of journey and dialogue among the various stations. The two main aspects of the journey are place making – constructing a place in the unique context of immigration, and time making – creating being-time and meta-time, both unique to immigration. Each of the places affects the immigration process and is affected by this dynamic, nonlinear process. The combined concepts of place making and immigration time help explain the complexity of immigration.     

The Relationship between Childhood Cruelty to Animals and Psychological Adjustment: A Malaysian Study

ABSTRACT

In Western research, cruelty to animals in childhood has been associated with comorbid conduct problems and with interpersonal violence in later life. However, there is little understanding of the etiology of cruelty to animals, and what in the child's life may require attention if the chain linking animal cruelty and later violence is to be broken. The study reported in this paper investigated the association between parent-reported cruelty to animals, and parent- and self-reported psychological strengths and weaknesses in a sample of 379 elementary school children in an Eastern context, Malaysia. No gender differences were found in relation to cruelty to animals or psychological problems, as assessed with the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). However, there were different predictors of cruelty to animals for boys and girls. Regression analyses found that for boys, parent-reported hyperactivity was a unique predictor of Malicious and Total Cruelty to animals. For girls, self-reported conduct problems was a unique predictor of Typical Cruelty to animals. Parent-reported total difficulties were associated with Typical, Malicious, and Total Cruelty to animals. We suggest that routine screening of children with an instrument such as the SDQ may help to detect those children who may need to undergo further assessment and perhaps intervention to break the chain linking childhood cruelty to animals and later conduct problems.     

The Dot and Line Method: A Long Range Correction to Coulomb Interaction in a Cylindrical Pore

The charge line (CL) method had been used in the past to represent the periodic charges in Monte Carlo simulations of ions in a cylindrical pore. In this method, there exists a possible singularity when the edge of the image line overlaps with an ion in the central cylinder. This singularity is more problematic for molecular dynamics when the force is evaluated. Molecular dynamics simulations with the CL method have not been reported in the literature. By replacing the first section of the image charge line with an image point, we show that the CL method can be improved and be applicable in the molecular dynamics simulation of electrolytes in a cylindrical geometry. The modified method is demonstrated to be effective by simulations of a high packing primitive model electrolyte, representing the state of a molten salt.     

The sensitivity of lizards to elevation: A case study from south-eastern Australia

Lizard distribution patterns were examined in relation to elevation in two undulating landscapes. We asked three specific questions: (1) Were different lizard species associated with particular elevations? (2) Did biological attributes of lizards (e.g. body size, colour, reproduction strategy, etc.) vary with elevation? (3) Did species richness of lizards vary with elevation? Field data were collected in two undulating production landscapes in south‐eastern Australia, approximately 100 km to the west of the Australian Capital Territory. Lizards were surveyed using 648 pitfall traps and 3840 m of drift fence. Both study landscapes were divided into 50 m elevation classes. For each elevation class, survey effort, the capture rate of individual species, and species richness were recorded. Correspondence analysis was used to sort lizards according to their altitudinal distribution profiles. Analysis of variance was used to examine if biological attributes of lizards were related to their altitudinal distribution profiles. Generalized linear modelling was used to relate elevation to the capture rate of individual species, and to species richness. Lizard species differed in their altitudinal preferences. Skinks, taxa with a Bassian distribution or distribution restricted to the Great Dividing Range, dark‐bodied species and viviparous species were more likely to inhabit high elevations. Elevation was significantly related to the capture rate of seven species, and ecologically similar species replaced one another as elevation increased. Species richness peaked significantly at intermediate elevations in both landscapes. We conclude that lizards were highly sensitive to elevation. Elevation changes of as little as 50 m may be related to a change in species richness or species composition. Future research should assess if reptiles in other undulating landscapes with a temperate climate are similarly sensitive to elevation. If so, conservation activities in these landscapes need to consider the full spectrum of topographic positions and elevations.     

The treatment of hemophilia A: from protein replacement to AAV-mediated gene therapy

Factor VIII (FVIII) is an essential component in blood coagulation, a deficiency of which causes the serious bleeding disorder hemophilia A. Recently, with the development of purification level and recombinant techniques, protein replacement treatment to hemophiliacs is relatively safe and can prolong their life expectancy. However, because of the possibility of unknown contaminants in plasma-derived FVIII and recombinant FVIII, and high cost for hemophiliacs to use these products, gene therapy for hemophilia A is an attractive alternative to protein replacement therapy. Thus far, the adeno-associated virus (AAV) is a promising vector for gene therapy. Further improvement of the virus for clinical application depends on better understanding of the molecular structure and fate of the vector genome. It is likely that hemophilia will be the first genetic disease to be cured by somatic cell gene therapy.     

The individuality of the species: A Darwinian theory? — from Buffon to Ghiselin, and back to Darwin

Since the 1970s, there has been a tremendous amount of literature on Ghiselin's proposal that “species are individuals”. After recalling the origins and stakes of this thesis in contemporary evolutionary theory, I show that it can also be found in the writings of the French naturalist Buffon in the 18th Century. Although Buffon did not have the conception that one species could be derived from another, there is an interesting similarity between the modern argument and that of Buffon regarding the “individuality of species’. The analogy is strong enough to force us to recognize that genuine evolutionary (or Darwinian) questions might be of secondary importance in the discussion. In consequence, the third section of the paper proposes an alternative schema for the “logical structure” of the Darwinian concept of species. Darwin distinguished the problem of the designation of a concrete species, and the problem of its signification of species within his theory of descent? The resulting notion of species involves a logical structure based on the fusion of the logical operations of classification and ordering. The difficulty — and interest — is that this interpretation of species does not entail any precise operational definition of species; it can only tell us what the ultimate signification of classification is within the theory of descent with modification through natural selection.     

The lens equator: A platform for molecular machinery that regulates the switch from cell proliferation to differentiation in the vertebrate lens

The vertebrate lens is a transparent, spheroidal tissue, located in the anterior region of the eye that focuses visual images on the retina. During development, surface ectoderm associated with the neural retina invaginates to form the lens vesicle. Cells in the posterior half of the lens vesicle differentiate into primary lens fiber cells, which form the lens fiber core, while cells in the anterior half maintain a proliferative state as a monolayer lens epithelium. After formation of the primary fiber core, lens epithelial cells start to differentiate into lens fiber cells at the interface between the lens epithelium and the primary lens fiber core, which is called the equator. Differentiating lens fiber cells elongate and cover the old lens fiber core, resulting in growth of the lens during development. Thus, lens fiber differentiation is spatially regulated and the equator functions as a platform that regulates the switch from cell proliferation to cell differentiation. Since the 1970s, the mechanism underlying lens fiber cell differentiation has been intensively studied, and several regulatory factors that regulate lens fiber cell differentiation have been identified. In this review, we focus on the lens equator, where these regulatory factors crosstalk and cooperate to regulate lens fiber differentiation. Normally, lens epithelial cells must pass through the equator to start lens fiber differentiation. However, there are reports that when the lens epithelium structure is collapsed, lens fiber cell differentiation occurs without passing the equator. We also discuss a possible mechanism that represses lens fiber cell differentiation in lens epithelium.     

The discovery and structure-activity relationships leading to CE-156811, a difluorophenyl cyclopropyl fluoroether: a novel potent antibacterial analog derived from hygromycin A

SAR studies and optimization of various modified Hygromycin A fluoroalkyl ethers, which led to the discovery of the highly potent 4′-(2-cyclopropyl-2-fluoroethyl ether) antibacterial CE-156811 (1) derived from truncation of the ribose ring and difluorination of the phenyl found in Hygromycin A, are discussed.     

The Neanderthal patellae from Krapina (Croatia): A comparative investigation of their endostructural conformation and distinctive features compared to the extant human condition

Objectives

The Neanderthal patella differs from that of extant humans by being thicker anteroposteriorly and by having more symmetric medial and lateral articular facets. However, it is still unclear to what extent these differences affect knee kinesiology. We aim at assessing the endostructural conformation of Neanderthal patellae to reveal functionally related mechanical information comparatively to the extant human condition. In principle, we expect that the Neanderthal patella (i) shows a higher amount of cortical bone and (ii) a trabecular network organization distinct from the extant human condition.

Materials and Methods

By using micro-focus X-ray tomography, we characterized the endostructure of six adult patellae from the OIS 5e Neanderthal site of Krapina, Croatia, the largest assemblage of human fossil patellae assessed so far, and compared their pattern to the configuration displayed by a sample of 22 recent humans.

Results and Discussion

The first expectation is rejected, indicating that the patellar bone might have not followed the trend of generalized gracilization of the human postcranial skeleton occurred through the Upper Pleistocene. The second prediction is at least partially supported. In Krapina the trabecular network differs from the comparative sample by showing a higher medial density and by lacking a proximal reinforcement. Such conformation indicates similar load patterns exerted in Neanderthals and extant humans by the vastus lateralis, but not by the vastus medialis, with implications on the mediolateral stabilization of the knee joint. However, the patterns of structural variation of the patellar network remain to be assessed in other Neanderthal samples.