A nationwide population-based skin cancer screening in Germany: Proceedings of the first meeting of the International Task Force on Skin Cancer Screening and Prevention (September 24 and 25, 2009)

Skin cancer incidence is increasing worldwide in white populations and mortality rates have not declined throughout most of the world. An extraordinarily high proportion of at-risk individuals have yet to be screened for melanoma but guidelines from esteemed bodies do not currently endorse population-based screening. Evidence for the effectiveness of skin cancer screening is imperative. To this end, scientists in Germany have launched a nationwide skin cancer screening campaign. Herein, we review pilot screening data from Schleswig-Holstein, discuss the launch of the major new national initiative, review issues related to evaluation of that program, and propose seven recommendations from the International Task Force on Skin Cancer Screening and Prevention that was held in Hamburg, Germany, on September 24 and 25, 2009.     

Power law rank-abundance models for marine phage communities

Metagenomic analyses suggest that the rank-abundance curve for marine phage communities follows a power law distribution. A new type of power law dependence based on a simple model in which a modified version of Lotka-Volterra predator-prey dynamics is sampled uniformly in time is presented. Biologically, the model embodies a kill the winner hypothesis and a neutral evolution hypothesis. The model can match observed power law distributions and uses very few parameters that are readily identifiable and characterize phage ecosystems. The model makes new untested predictions: (1) it is unlikely that the most abundant phage genotype will be the same at different time points and (2) the long-term decay of isolated phage populations follows a power law.     

Here a virus, there a virus, everywhere the same virus?

There are an estimated 10(31) viruses on Earth, most of which are phages that infect bacteria. Metagenomic analyses have shown that environmental viral communities are incredibly diverse. There are an estimated 5000 viral genotypes in 200 liters of seawater and possibly a million different viral genotypes in one kilogram of marine sediment. By contrast, some culturing and molecular studies have found that viruses move between different biomes. Together, these findings suggest that viral diversity could be high on a local scale but relatively limited globally. Also, by moving between environments, viruses can facilitate horizontal gene transfer.     

Determination of the site of action of calcitonin gene-related peptide in the alteration of intracellular calcium levels in adult and neonatal rodent myocytes

The purpose of this study is to elucidate the mechanism of action and site of action of calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) and its effects on calcium concentrations in two types of cardiomyocytes, neonatal and adult, by employing real-time fluorescence imaging. CGRP caused an increase in intramyocytic calcium with adult cells, but a decrease with neonates. Treatment of adult myocytes with ouabain and ryanodine yielded results suggesting that CGRP action is not at the ryanodine receptor (RyR) and does not involve Na+ +K+ ATPase. Furthermore, in neonatal cardiomyocytes CGRP caused a reduction in intramyocytic calcium levels, and challenges with ryanodine and ouabain gave results supporting the hypothesis that CGRP acts at the sarcolemmal L-type calcium channel. Employing real-time fluorescence measurements in cultured, dedifferentiated adult cardiomyocytes, which are known to express a fetal phenotype and exhibit neonatal-like calcium transients, our acquisitions demonstrated a major reduction in intracellular calcium levels. Finally, our collaborative studies in human myocardium using fluorescence deconvolution microscopy revealed that CGRP localization was found in a pattern similar to that of the sarcolemmal L-type calcium channel.     

Early weaning among Japanese women in Hawaii

This study examined factors associated with early weaning among Japanese women in comparison with Caucasian women in Hawaii. A mailed survey was sent to all women who delivered an infant in Hawaii between January 1st 1989 and March 31st 1989. Only Japanese (N=228) and Caucasian women (N=439) were included in this study. All Japanese breast-feeding women in the study introduced formula at some point in time. Cox multivariate regression analysis was conducted in two separate models of Japanese and Caucasian women, respectively. Higher maternal age and working part-time among Japanese women, and multiparity, college education, rural island and long-term Hawaii residence among Caucasian women were protective against early weaning. Introduction of formula was strongly associated with early weaning for both groups, the association being stronger for Japanese women. The early practice of partial breast-feeding may play an important role for early weaning among Japanese women in Hawaii.     

Elephant calling patterns as indicators of group size and composition: the basis for an acoustic monitoring system

The paper gives evidence that the vocal activity of elephants varies with group size, composition and reproductive status, and that elephants' calling patterns could therefore provide the basis for a remote monitoring system. We examined a 3‐week set of array‐based audio recordings of savanna elephants (Loxodonta africana), searching for diagnostic acoustic parameters. An acoustic array made it possible to locate recorded sounds and attribute the calls to particular elephants or elephant groups. Simultaneous video recordings made it possible to document visible behaviour and roughly correlate it with vocalizations. We compared several measures of call density in elephant groups containing up to 59 individuals, and found that rates of calling increased with increasing numbers of elephants. We divided all call events into three structural types (single‐voice low‐frequency calls, multiple‐voice clustered low‐frequency calls, and single‐voice high frequency calls), and found that the incidence of these varies predictably with group composition. These results suggest the value of a network of listening systems in remote areas for the collection of information on elephant abundance and population structure.     

Oxygen-regulated stimulons of Salmonella typhimurium identified by Mu d(Ap lac) operon fusions

Using the technique of Mu d1(Ap lac)-directed lacZ operon fusions, several oxygen-regulated genetic loci were identified in Salmonella typhimurium. Thirteen anaerobically inducible and six aerobically inducible operon fusions were identified. Based on control by the oxrA and oxrB regulatory loci, the anti-lacZ fusions were grouped into three classes: class I loci were regulated by both oxr loci, class II genes were regulated by oxrA only, and class III loci were not affected by either regulatory locus. Several of the anti-lacZ fusions required growth in complex medium before they exhibited the inducible phenotype. While the expression of some of these loci was repressed when organisms were grown in nitrate, others were stimulated by nitrate. Fusions into the hyd and phs loci were identified among the isolated anti-lacZ fusions. Six oxygen-inducible (oxi) operon fusions were also identified. Two of the oxi loci mapped near oxygen-regulatory loci: oxiC near oxrA and oxiE near oxyR. However, neither fusion appeared to occur within the regulatory locus. The data presented serve to further define the aerobic and anaerobic stimulons of S. typhimurium but indicate additional regulatory circuits above those already defined.