Do all Members of a Swarm Suffer the same Predation?1

Using three-spined sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus) as predators and water fleas (Daphnia magna) as prey, experiments were conducted to investigate whether different swarm regions were differentially preyed upon. The specific location of a region within the swarm, its density, and the motivational state of the predator all influenced the risk of predation. As stragglers were more often attacked than any portion of a swarm itself, natural selection favours all individual swarm members, although differentially.     

Reduced Motor Cortex Deactivation in Individuals Who Suffer from Writer's Cramp

This study investigated the neuromagnetic activities of self-paced finger lifting task and electrical median nerve stimulation in ten writer''s cramp patients and fourteen control subjects. The event-related de/synchronizations (ERD/ERS) of beta-band activity levels were evaluated and the somatosensory cortical activity levels were analyzed using equivalent-current dipole modeling. No significant difference between the patients and control subjects was found in the electrical stimulation-induced beta ERS and electrical evoked somatosensory cortical responses. Movement-related beta ERD did not differ between controls and patients. Notably, the amplitude of the beta ERS after termination of finger movement was significantly lower in the patients than in the control subjects. The reduced movement-related beta ERS might reflect an impairment of motor cortex deactivation. In conclusion, a motor dependent dysregulation of the sensorimotor network seems to be involved in the functional impairment of patients with writer''s cramp.     

Leaves of Field-Grown Mastic Trees Suffer Oxidative Stress at the Two Extremes of their Lifespan

Leaf senescence is a complex phenomenon occurring in all plant species, but it is still poorly understood in plants grown in Mediterranean field conditions and well-adapted to harsh climatic conditions. To better understand the physiological processes underlying leaf senescence in mastic trees (Pistacia lentiscus L.), we evaluated leaf growth, water and N content, photosystem II (PSII) photochemistry, lipid peroxidation and levels of photosynthetic pigments, antioxidants, abscisic acid, and salicylic acid and jasmonic acid during the complete leaf lifespan, from early expansion to late senescence in relation to natural climatic conditions in the field. While mature leaves suffered from water and N deficit during late spring and summer, both young (emerging) and old (senescing) leaves were most sensitive to photo-oxidative stress, as indicated by reductions in the F v/F m ratio and enhanced lipid peroxidation during late autumn and winter. Reductions in the F v/F m ratio were associated with low α-tocopherol (vitamin E) levels, while very old, senescing leaves additionally showed severe anthocyanin losses. We have concluded that both young (emerging) and old (senescing) leaves suffer oxidative stress in mastic trees, which may be linked in part to suboptimal temperatures during late autumn and winter as well as to low vitamin E levels.     

The Weak Suffer What They Must: A Natural Experiment in Thought and Structure

Because of a change at a hospital, we are able to contrast two different structures of leadership in a union worksite. Since we had tested a cognitive construct we call "union consciousness" before the change, the difference in structure provides a natural experiment to determine the consequences of structural change for cognition. We repeated the test after the change and found a different cognitive structure. We conclude that cognitive structures are not enduring configurations but that they change as structures change. This leads to the further conclusion that external structures are powerful determinants of patterns of thought, [ experiment, cognition, structure, organized labor, unions, healthcare, culture, theory ]     

Arctic Geese Tune Migration to a Warming Climate but Still Suffer from a Phenological Mismatch

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"They Don''t Have to Suffer for Me": Why Dialysis Patients Refuse Offers of Living Donor Kidneys

In the present climate of organ shortage, high demand for kidney transplants, and better clinical outcomes from living donors, health care professionals expect and encourage patients to accept offers of living related donor (LRD) kidneys. When patients decide not to adhere to this course of treatment, scholars and policy makers may question why, given that it delays their chances of receiving a transplant. This article reports on patients' decisions to refuse LRD kidney offers. An 18-month study was conducted of treatment decisions by hemodialysis patients (N = 79). Fewer than half of those offered an LRD kidney (N = 64) were willing to accept it, suggesting that sociocultural factors inform decisions. Patients expressed concerns about the potential donors' well-being over their own and about compromising their relationships with the donors. This article concludes that social relations, emotions, and ethnomedical beliefs play an important role in patients' treatment decisions and thus contributes to the anthropology of decision making.     

Mice Deficient in Ribosomal Protein S6 Phosphorylation Suffer from Muscle Weakness that Reflects a Growth Defect and Energy Deficit

Background

Mice, whose ribosomal protein S6 cannot be phosphorylated due to replacement of all five phosphorylatable serine residues by alanines (rpS6^P−/−), are viable and fertile. However, phenotypic characterization of these mice and embryo fibroblasts derived from them, has established the role of these modifications in the regulation of the size of several cell types, as well as pancreatic β-cell function and glucose homeostasis. A relatively passive behavior of these mice has raised the possibility that they suffer from muscle weakness, which has, indeed, been confirmed by a variety of physical performance tests.

Methodology/Principal Findings

A large variety of experimental methodologies, including morphometric measurements of histological preparations, high throughput proteomic analysis, positron emission tomography (PET) and numerous biochemical assays, were used in an attempt to establish the mechanism underlying the relative weakness of rpS6^P−/− muscles. Collectively, these experiments have demonstrated that the physical inferiority appears to result from two defects: a) a decrease in total muscle mass that reflects impaired growth, rather than aberrant differentiation of myofibers, as well as a diminished abundance of contractile proteins; and b) a reduced content of ATP and phosphocreatine, two readily available energy sources. The abundance of three mitochondrial proteins has been shown to diminish in the knockin mouse. However, the apparent energy deficiency in this genotype does not result from a lower mitochondrial mass or compromised activity of enzymes of the oxidative phosphorylation, nor does it reflect a decline in insulin-dependent glucose uptake, or diminution in storage of glycogen or triacylglycerol (TG) in the muscle.

Conclusions/Significance

This study establishes rpS6 phosphorylation as a determinant of muscle strength through its role in regulation of myofiber growth and energy content. Interestingly, a similar role has been assigned for ribosomal protein S6 kinase 1, even though it regulates myoblast growth in an rpS6 phosphorylation-independent fashion.     

西格列汀对老年2型糖尿病合并轻中度慢性心衰患者hs-CRP及NT-proBNP的影响

目的:探讨使用西格列汀对老年2型糖尿病合并轻中度慢性心衰患者外周血超敏C反应蛋白(high-sensitivity C-reactive Protein,hs-CRP)、N-端B型脑钠肽前体(N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide,NT-proBNP)的影响。方法:将我院90例老年2型糖尿病合并轻中度慢性心衰患者随机分成观察组和对照组分别46例和44例。两组患者均给予常规抗心衰治疗,对照组予以格列吡嗪控释片降糖,观察组予以西格列汀口服降糖治疗。检测试验前后患者血清hs-CRP及NT-proBNP的水平,并常规检测血压、血脂、糖化血红蛋白、血糖及肝肾功能等指标。结果:两组治疗后HbA1c水平与治疗前比较均有下降,差异均有统计学意义(P0.05);西格列汀组的hs-CRP、NT-proBNP水平治疗后分别下降至6.67±0.85 mg/L,1412.27±92.28 pg/m L,与治疗前比较差异均有统计学意义(P0.05);治疗后西格列汀组的hs-CRP、NT-proBNP水平与对照组比较差异有统计学意义(P0.05)。结论:2型糖尿病合并轻中度慢性心功能不全患者服用西格列汀除有效降糖外还能一定程度地降低hs-CRP和NT-proBNP水平,提示其潜在改善心脏功能的作用。     

Don't forget the children.

Serious illness or hospitalization of a parent is potentially destructive to the mental health of the child. Stress is caused by both the separation and the illness itself. If the physician does not ensure that the situation is explained to the child, it is likely the child will be confused and frightened and any attempts at clarification will be blocked in the attendant family dysfunction. The general principles of prevention are to share the facts of the situation with the child and to allow him his natural and varied reactions. The family interview is useful in clearing up misunderstandings, sharing feelings and working out family roles.     

Microvascularization of the sternum in children

46 sternums originating from 1-day- to 17-year-old children were injected with India ink and transparified. The intraosteal and medullary vasculature is described at different stages, as well as cartilage canals, vessels of the isolated ossification center, vessels of the ossification center connected with peripheral vascular structures or neighboring cartilage canals, and finally the transition to the adult pattern. With age, the centrifugal vascular distribution develops to a centripetal pattern.     

Choosing the sexual orientation of children

Many people believe that a person's sexual orientation is genetic. Given the widespread prejudice against, and hatred of, homosexuals in many societies, it seems likely that many parents will be interested in using genetic technologies to prevent the birth of children who will not be heterosexual. This paper considers the moral and legal implications of such procedures (whether or not they would work). It is argued that the availability of procedures to select the sexual orientation of children would contribute to discrimination and prejudice against lesbians, gay men and bisexuals and, more generally, undermine the maintenance of a just society. These effects carry significant weight in determining whether genetic technologies should be developed and whether their use is, or should be, legally permissible and morally acceptable.     

Jewish children under the camera: An ethnographic study of Jewish children in Britain

This article seeks to explore the use of photography as a tool for ethnographic research, having regard to the nature of participant observation as the primary method involved. A study of Jewish children in the center of England highlights a range of creative possibilities for the use of photography. An examination of the Jewish tradition reinforces the need for depth of understanding if one is to forge a truly empathetic relationship that links subject and object in photographic exploration.