Refining teratogen warning symbols for diverse populations

BACKGROUND: The current research reports on efforts to refine the design of recently developed teratogen warning symbols and to examine their interpretation by different populations such as those with low health literacy, adolescents, and individuals who are not fluent in English. METHODS: Alternative symbols identified as most successful in an earlier study were further refined through the use of multiple focus groups and expert review. Six symbols emerged as potential candidates to replace the current symbol. A nationally distributed field trial (n = 700) examined these six alternate teratogen warnings in addition to the symbol presently in use. RESULTS: Five of the alternate warning symbols exceeded the level of correct interpretation elicited by the current symbol. No symbol exceeded the ANSI limit of 5% critical confusion. Two symbols consistently elicited the most accurate responses in terms of message interpretation, target audience, intended action, and perceived consequences of ignoring the warning. CONCLUSIONS: This effort produced at least two viable alternative symbols that appear to be more effective than the current symbol at communicating both the instruction to not take while pregnant and the consequence that exposure could cause birth defects. Several results varied by participant characteristics. Understanding how members of diverse subpopulations might interact with these warnings should be informative to healthcare professionals.     

Ultrastructure of epithelium and ciliary receptors in the parasitic turbellarian Urastoma cyprinae (Turbellaria, "Prolecithophora") and position of the species within Platyhelminthes

Ultrastructure of the epithelium of adult and juvenile Urastoma cyprinae has been studied. The epithelium of both adult and juvenile worms is cellular, ciliated and bears numerous microvilli. The cytoplasm is rich in large, numerous epitheliosomes of two types--electron-dense and with fibrillated content (fig. 1, a, [symbol: see text]; 2, a-[symbol: see text]). Besides large secrete granules small membrane-bounded vesicles were observed (fig. 2, a-[symbol: see text]). In juvenile worms the dense epitheliosomes are less abundant and the fibrillated content in the second type of granules has a different structure: the fibrils are very thin and more densely packed forming the structures of the less electron density (fig. 3, a, [symbol: see text], [symbol: see text] 1). The membrane-bounded vesicles in the epithelium of juvenile worms were not observed. All types of secrete are ejected by exocytosis (fig. 2, [symbol: see text]; 3, [symbol: see text], [symbol: see text]). The ultrastructure of the epithelium in juvenile U. cyprinae is strongly similar to that in parasitic turbellarian Kronborgia, especially to the epithelium in a male and a larva. The basal lamina consists of tree layers and forms numerous deep infoldings into the epithelium (fig. 1, a; 2, a; 3, a, [symbol: see text], [symbol: see text]). The basement membrane projects deep and numerous invaginations into the epithelium which may almost reach the apical membrane (fig. 1, a; 2, a, [symbol: see text], [symbol: see text]; 3, [symbol: see text]). Mitochondria are large and situated mainly near the projections of the basement membrane (fig. 2, [symbol: see text]-[symbol: see text]; 3, [symbol: see text]). Such ultrastructure implies an intensive process of the transmembrane transfer of the dissolved organic substances from the sea water. The same structures were found in the epithelium of Kronborgia. Uptake of organic compounds through the epithelium in the common ancestors of Urastoma and Kronborgia could be the preadaptation to the endoparasitic mode of life in Fecampiida. The differencies in ultrastructure of epithelium in U. cyprinae from the White Sea and from Mediterranean Sea (Noury-Sra?ri e. a., 1990) may be explained by the differences in the method of fixation or by the parasitizing the another host--the mollusk Mytilus galloprovincialis. The ciliary receptors of five types were revealed in U. cyprinae (fig. 3, e, [symbol: see text]; 4; 5; 6). They differ in the shape and length of the ciliary rootlets and in the content of the nerve processes. All receptors lack of the real collars typical for the receptors of Neodermata. Urastoma is most close to the Neodermata amond parasitic turbellarians studied thus far, and the absence of collars in receptors of this species testifies that the collars are the veritable synapomorphy of the Neodermata. The diversity in the ultrastructure and possible functions of receptors correspond to the complicated adaptations of this species. The modern molecular data as well as the ultrastructural evidence attest that parasitic turbellarians of the genera Urastoma, Genostoma and Ichthyophaga are relatives and cannot be included in any turbellarian order known. Therefore Urastoma, Genostoma and Ichthyophaga have been erected in the separate order Urastomida ord. nov. The diagnosis of the new order is given.     

Genew: the Human Gene Nomenclature Database

Genew, the Human Gene Nomenclature Database, is the only resource that provides data for all human genes which have approved symbols. It is managed by the HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC) as a confidential database, containing over 16 000 records, 80% of which are represented on the Web by searchable text files. The data in Genew are highly curated by HGNC editors and gene records can be searched on the Web by symbol or name to directly retrieve information on gene symbol, gene name, cytogenetic location, OMIM number and PubMed ID. Data are integrated with other human gene databases, e.g. GDB, LocusLink and SWISS-PROT, and approved gene symbols are carefully co-ordinated with the Mouse Genome Database (MGD). Approved gene symbols are available for querying and browsing at http://www.gene.ucl.ac.uk/cgi-bin/nomenclature/searchgenes.pl.     

Structure of the epithelium of the parasitic turbellaria Notenera ivanovi (Turbellaria: Fecampiida)

The ultrastructure of the epithelium in Notentera ivanovi (Turbellaria, Fecampiida) has been studied. Notentera ivanovi lacks the digestive system but has a pad of the epidermal cells on the dorsal side of the body, which seems to be similar to the digestive epidermis on LM. Both the ventral and dorsal epithelium are cellular, ciliated and not insunk (fig. 1, a). The ultrastructure of the ventral and dorsal epithelium is similar in essential features. The cells bear abundant microvilli, cilia and are very rich in mitochondria, but the cytoplasm does not contain lysosomes and shows no other indications of phago- or pinocytosis. The basal membrane of epithelial cells forms deep invaginations (fig. 1, [symbol: see text]), partly with dilations (fig. 1, a; 2, a) containing the lamellated material (3, [symbol: see text]). In the basal part of the cells the numerous Golgi apparatus and rare cysternae of the smooth endoplasmic reticulum were observed (fig. 2, a, [symbol: see text]). The epithelium consists of several types of cells, which differ in the structure of secretory granules. The most abundant type of cells contains the granules with the rough-fibrillated content (fig. 1, a; 2, [symbol: see text]; 3, a). The cells of this type cover most part of the body. In some cells the content of such granules becomes condensed and electron-dense granules appear (fig. 3, a, [symbol: see text]). Another type of cells contains the giant granules with the rough-fibrillated content (fig. 3, [symbol: see text]). Third type of the secret is the granules with the finely fibrillated content which is ejected by exocytosis. The cells of the second and third types form a separate areas of the epithelium of the dorsal side of the body but occasionally were observed in the ventral epithelium too. The epithelium of N. ivanovi differs from that in Kronborgia by the abundance and diversity of secretory contents. The role of the epithelium in the digestion remains conjectural. It seems to be mainly the suckering tissue transporting the low molecular nutrients.     

植被制图色彩和符号设计原则与全国植被图图例方案

植被图通常采用不同的颜色并结合符号来区分不同的植被类型, 以期更加直观、清晰地将植被类型信息传达给读者。如何通过色彩和符号的合理搭配来区分不同的植被类型是植被制图中的关键步骤, 尤其是对于植被类型较丰富的区域, 植被图的色彩和符号设计更为复杂。植被图图例系统建立在植被分类系统之上, 近10余年来我国的植被分类系统得到了进一步的发展和完善, 因此, 非常有必要在最新的植被分类系统基础上, 提出一套植被制图色彩和符号设计方案, 用以指导当前的植被制图工作。该研究整理了地图学、植被图以及其他专题地图色彩和符号设计的要求, 提出了植被制图的色彩和符号设计原则。在最新的植被分类系统基础上, 采用颜色三属性(色调、明度、饱和度)及符号的基本视觉变量(形状、尺寸、方向、色彩、密度、亮度)的变化及其组合, 依据色彩和符号设计的系统性、科学性、象征性等原则, 对中国植被分类系统高级分类单位中的植被亚型, 进行了标准化配色和符号设计, 旨在为植被制图工作者及新一代1:50万植被图编研提供理论依据和参考, 提升植被制图的效率和质量。     

Contemporary chinese sex symbols in dreams.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 20(3) of Dreaming (see record 2010-17362-003). The publishing year of the article in the correction notice was listed incorrectly as 2009. The correct publication year for the original article is 2010. The word were was also misspelled in the body of the correction as where.] [Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 20(2) of Dreaming (see record 2010-12874-005). Three Chinese characters where printed incorrectly in the article. The correct symbols are shown along with the location of each in the original article. An error is also located on page 26, 3rd paragraph from the top, second symbol in the third sentence from the bottom of the paragraph. On page 28, 1st paragraph, the 1st symbol in line 7 of the paragraph is incorrect. The last error is on page 28, in which the 1st paragraph, 1st symbol in the last line of the paragraph is incorrect.] The present study aimed to determine how often Chinese people dream of sexual metaphors and to examine the association between the dreaming of sexual experiences and contemporary Chinese sex symbols. A list of sex symbols was derived from a thorough review of the sexual analogies that Chinese people most often use in slang language. This list, together with the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale and the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire Revised–Short Form, was administrated to a sample of 608 upper-secondary school graduates from Hong Kong. It was found that the participants rarely dreamed about food analogies for sex, such as “eating litchis” and “bananas or banana-like objects.” By contrast, sex symbols involving weapons and aggressive behavior, such as “knives, swords, or daggers” and “shooting,” occurred in dreams with moderate prevalence rates. Moreover, gender, the frequency of dreaming sexual experiences, and social desirability significantly predicted the frequency scores on the scale formed by these aggressive symbols for sex. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A systems analog mime for color vision disorders in humans

A multiunit processing system mime for human color vision is presented. This processing system is composed of a sequence of black box units which encode the visual field and subsequently decode the visual field in the following manner. A “primary retinal encoder” performs an internal digitization of the visual field in both color and intensity. A “fundamental symbol translating unit” encodes the color and intensity patterns into a new pattern containing the fundamental symbols. This encoding is done via a Gödel transformation of the fundamental symbol patterns. The symbols needed to execute this transformation are found in an encoded table called the “symbol translation table.” Finally, the “Gödel signal generator” translates the fundamental symbol pattern into an electrical signal which is sent to a decoding region in the visual cortex and lateral geniculate body. This region is also tied to the symbol translation table, and is then used to decode the electrical signal back to the visual field. It is shown that various errors/failures in these black box units may lead to a wide variety of visual problems which mimic human disorders. These disorders include color blindness, color weakness, dyslexic problems, and a new disorder called visual field fluctuation.     

Correction to Yu (2010).

Reports an error in "Contemporary Chinese sex symbols in dreams: Correction to Yu" by Calvin Kai-Ching Yu (Dreaming, 2010[Mar], Vol 20[1], 25-41). The publishing year of the article in the correction notice was listed incorrectly as 2009. The correct publication year for the original article is 2010. The word were was also misspelled in the body of the correction as where. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2010-05656-003.) [Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 20(2) of Dreaming (see record 2010-12874-005). Three Chinese characters where printed incorrectly in the article. The correct symbols are shown along with the location of each in the original article. An error is also located on page 26, 3rd paragraph from the top, second symbol in the third sentence from the bottom of the paragraph. On page 28, 1st paragraph, the 1st symbol in line 7 of the paragraph is incorrect. The last error is on page 28, in which the 1st paragraph, 1st symbol in the last line of the paragraph is incorrect.] The present study aimed to determine how often Chinese people dream of sexual metaphors and to examine the association between the dreaming of sexual experiences and contemporary Chinese sex symbols. A list of sex symbols was derived from a thorough review of the sexual analogies that Chinese people most often use in slang language. This list, together with the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale and the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire Revised–Short Form, was administrated to a sample of 608 upper-secondary school graduates from Hong Kong. It was found that the participants rarely dreamed about food analogies for sex, such as “eating litchis” and “bananas or banana-like objects.” By contrast, sex symbols involving weapons and aggressive behavior, such as “knives, swords, or daggers” and “shooting,” occurred in dreams with moderate prevalence rates. Moreover, gender, the frequency of dreaming sexual experiences, and social desirability significantly predicted the frequency scores on the scale formed by these aggressive symbols for sex. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

CO2.- radical induced cleavage of disulfide bonds in proteins. A gamma-ray and pulse radiolysis mechanistic investigation

Disulfide bond reduction by the CO2.- radical was investigated in aponeocarzinostatin, aporiboflavin-binding protein, and bovine immunoglobulin. Protein-bound cysteine free thiols were formed under gamma-ray irradiation in the course of a pH-dependent and protein concentration dependent chain reaction. The chain efficiency increased upon acidification of the medium, with an apparent pKa around 5, and decreased abruptly below pH 3.6. It decreased also at neutral pH as cysteine accumulated. From pulse radiolysis analysis, CO2.- proved able to induce rapid one-electron oxidation of thiols and of tyrosine phenolic groups in addition to one-electron donation to exposed disulfide bonds. The bulk rate constant of CO2.- uptake by the native proteins was 5- to 10-fold faster at pH 3 than at pH 8, and the protonated form of the disulfide radical anion, [symbol: see text], appeared to be the major protein radical species formed under acidic conditions. The main decay path of [symbol: see text] consisted of the rapid formation of a thiyl radical intermediate [symbol: see text] in equilibrium with the closed, cyclic form. The thiyl radical was subsequently reduced to the sulfhydryl level [symbol: see text] on reaction with formate, generating 1 mol of the CO2.- radical, thus propagating the chain reaction. The disulfide radical anion [symbol: see text] at pH 8 decayed through competing intramolecular and/or intermolecular routes including disproportionation, protein-protein cross-linking, electron transfer with tyrosine residues, and reaction with sulfhydryl groups in prereduced systems. Disproportionation and cross-linking were observed with the riboflavin-binding protein solely. Formation of the disulfide radical cation [symbol: see text], phenoxyl radical Tyr-O. disproportionation, and phenoxyl radical induced oxidation of preformed thiol groups should also be taken into consideration to explain the fate of the oxygen-centered phenoxyl radical.     

"Contemporary Chinese sex symbols in dreams": Correction to Yu (2009).

Reports an error in "Contemporary Chinese sex symbols in dreams" by Calvin Kai-Ching Yu (Dreaming, 2010[Mar], Vol 20[1], 25-41). Three Chinese characters where printed incorrectly in the article. The correct symbols are shown along with the location of each in the original article. On page 26, 3rd paragraph from the top, the second symbol in the third sentence from the bottom of the paragraph is incorrect. On page 28, 1st paragraph, the 1st symbol in line 7 of the paragraph is also incorrect. The last error on page 28, in which the 1st paragraph, 1st symbol in the last line of the paragraph is incorrect. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2010-05656-003.) The present study aimed to determine how often Chinese people dream of sexual metaphors and to examine the association between the dreaming of sexual experiences and contemporary Chinese sex symbols. A list of sex symbols was derived from a thorough review of the sexual analogies that Chinese people most often use in slang language. This list, together with the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale and the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire Revised–Short Form, was administrated to a sample of 608 upper-secondary school graduates from Hong Kong. It was found that the participants rarely dreamed about food analogies for sex, such as “eating litchis” and “bananas or banana-like objects.” By contrast, sex symbols involving weapons and aggressive behavior, such as “knives, swords, or daggers” and “shooting,” occurred in dreams with moderate prevalence rates. Moreover, gender, the frequency of dreaming sexual experiences, and social desirability significantly predicted the frequency scores on the scale formed by these aggressive symbols for sex. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Simplicity, function, and legibility in an enhanced ambigraphic nucleic acid notation

We previously showed that an ambigraphic nucleic acid notation, based on symmetrical lowercase Roman characters, permits users to complement DNA by physically rotating the sequence text 180 degrees . This article describes an enhanced ambigraphic notation, which uses concept-related symbol design, rather than the arbitrary set of symbols that constitute the Roman alphabet, to logically encode the four DNA bases and 11 ambiguity characters. As ambigrams, the symbols continue to permit the rapid derivation of complementary sequences and visualization of palindromic DNA. In addition, the new AmbiScript notation uses legibility principles to support the identification of sequence polymorphism and improves writing efficiency by requiring fewer strokes per character than the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) notation.     

Quantitative relationship of renal blood flow with size and density of glomeruli in rat postnatal ontogenesis

The aim of the study was to find the quantitative relationship of postnatal changes in the glomeruli anatomic structure with the blood flow in kidneys. Kidney development was studied in 4-, 12-, 30-, and 65-day-old Wistar rats. Diameters of glomerulus (Dgl, microm), afferent and efferent arterioles (Daf and Def), and the glomeruli density (Ngl, mm(-3)) were measured posthumously. Volumes of one ((see text of symbol))V gl, microm3) and all glomeruli (see text for symbol)(sigma(see text for symbol)Vgl, mm3/cm3) and the glomeruli arterioles lumen (Saf and Sef, microm2) were calculated. The renal specific blood flow (SBF per unit of kidney weight, KW) was measured by the laser-Doppler flowmeter (in perfusion units, p.u.) under sodium barbamyl narcosis. We have found that, during postnatal growth, glomeruli morphological parameters vary according to the equations: Dgl = 7.1 (see text for symbol) KW0.41, (see text for symbol)V gl = 187 (see text for symbol) KW1.23, Ngl = 5309 (see text for symbol) KW-0.63 (KW, mg and for one kidney), Saf = 1.1 (see text for symbol)V gl 0.35, and Sef = 6.3 (see text for symbol) V gl 0.14. The renal SBF in 4-, 12-, and 65-day-old rats increases according to SBF = 6.7 (see text for symbol) (sigma( see text for symbol)V gl)0.98. The renal SBF calculated per unit of glomeruli volume varies a little with age.     

The viroid and viroid-like RNA database.

The viroid and viroid-like RNA database is a compilation of all natural sequences published in journals or available from the GenBank and EMBL nucleotide sequence libraries. Several information regarding these RNA species such as the position of their self-catalytic domains and the open reading frame of the human hepatitits delta virus are provided. The database also includes a determination of the likely ancestral sequence of most species and a prediction of the most stable secondary structures of these sequences. This online database is available on the World Wide Web (http://www.callisto.si.usherb.ca/[symbol: see text]jpperra ). It should provide an excellent reference point for further phylogenetic and structure-function studies of these RNA species.     

Are membrane enzymes regulated by the viscosity of the membrane environment?

We have examined the idea that membrane enzymes are regulated by the viscosity of surrounding lipids using data compiled from the literature for the effect of the change in membrane viscosity ([symbol: see text]) at the gel- to liquid-crystal-phase transition on the activities of several enzymes. The analysis was not extended explicitly to the problem of viscosity-dependent regulation of membrane enzymes in liquid-crystalline lipids because of the absence of exact data for values of [symbol: see text] in liquid-crystalline phases of variable composition. For most membrane enzymes studied, energies of activation are discontinuous, while kcat is continuous, at the main-phase transition. We consider that the energy of activation contains terms related to the height of the chemical barrier to reaction and terms due to the mechanical properties of the bilayer, such as the work of expansion during the catalytic cycle and the temperature dependence of [symbol: see text]. We find that the differences in energies of activation, above and below the break points in Arrhenius plots, are orders of magnitude larger than can be accounted for by the above mechanical factors. Thus, discontinuities in energies of activation at the phase transition appear to reflect changes in the chemical barrier to reaction, which is independent of [symbol: see text]. The theorectical analysis indicates too that values of [symbol: see text] for bilayers in the liquid-crystalline phase would have to be several orders of magnitude larger than those for gel phases in order to provide a basis for viscosity-dependent regulation of membrane enzymes in liquid-crystalline phases.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Seed banks, salmon, and sleeping genes: effective population size in semelparous, age-structured species with fluctuating abundance

Previous studies reached contrasting conclusions regarding how fluctuations in abundance affect Ne in semelparous species with variable age at maturity: that Ne is determined by the arithmetic mean N among the T years within a generation (Ne approximately = T(N)t; monocarpic plants with seed banks) or the harmonic mean (Ne approximately T[symbol: see text]; Pacific salmon). I show that these conclusions arise from different model assumptions rather than inherent differences between the species. Sequentially applying standard, discrete-generation formulas for inbreeding Ne to a series of nominal generations accurately predicts the multigenerational rate of increase in inbreeding. Variability in mean realized reproductive success across years (kt) is the most important factor determining Ne and Ne/N. When abundance is driven by random variation in kt, Ne < or = T[symbol: see text] < T(N)t. With random variation in Nt and constant per capita seed production (C), variation in kt is low and Ne approximately T[symbol: see text]; however, if C varies among years, Ne can be closer to T[symbol: see text]. Because population regulation affects the genetic contribution of entire cohorts of monocarpic perennials, Ne for these species may be more closely approximated by T[symbol: see text] than by T(N)t. With density-dependent compensation, Cov(kt, Nt) < 0, and Ne is further reduced because relatively few breeders make a disproportionate contribution to the next generation.     

The measurement problem in artificial world models

The only epistemic relations between the world and organisms are established through evolution by natural selection, and learning by observation and measurement. In physics, measurements map an open domain of physical structure to a closed set of symbols. A basic problem in simulating evolution and measurement is that neither activity can be adequately formalized. Artificial world models based on programmable computers require a formalized domain of symbols in which the concepts of evolution and measurement are limited. The measurement problem also bears on the questions of the relation of computation to physics and to formal symbol systems and on what sense dissipationless computation is a useful concept.     

Acetazolamide does not disrupt limb regenerate morphogenesis in the salamander, Plethodon cinereus

Acetazolamide, a potent and highly specific inhibitor of carbonic anhydrase, is teratogenic in mammalian embryos and when administered during early limb development causes unique limb defects in a time- and dose-dependent manner. The regenerating urodele limb is often considered to be a good experimental analog of limb development and, if it employs the same mechanisms of tissue interactions during pattern formation, should be susceptible to teratogens which selectively disrupt developmental limb patterning. This study demonstrates that while carbonic anhydrase inhibition is toxic to the red-backed salamander, Plethodon cinereus, it does not have the same teratogenic effect on limb regeneration as seen in mammalian limb development. Several points are considered as to why the regenerating limb, at least in this salamander species, may not be suitable for studying this class of teratogen.