The genetic signature of sex-biased migration in patrilocal chimpanzees and humans

A large body of theoretical work suggests that analyses of variation at the maternally inherited mitochondrial (mt)DNA and the paternally inherited non-recombining portion of the Y chromosome (NRY) are a potentially powerful way to reveal the differing migratory histories of men and women across human societies. However, the few empirical studies comparing mtDNA and NRY variation and known patterns of sex-biased migration have produced conflicting results. Here we review some methodological reasons for these inconsistencies, and take them into account to provide an unbiased characterization of mtDNA and NRY variation in chimpanzees, one of the few mammalian taxa where males routinely remain in and females typically disperse from their natal groups. We show that patterns of mtDNA and NRY variation are more strongly contrasting in patrilocal chimpanzees compared with patrilocal human societies. The chimpanzee data we present here thus provide a valuable comparative benchmark of the patterns of mtDNA and NRY variation to be expected in a society with extremely female-biased dispersal.     

Assessment approach for evaluating high abundance protein depletion methods for cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) proteomic analysis

Optimal proteomic analysis of human cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) requires depletion of high-abundance proteins to facilitate observation of low-abundance proteins. The performance of two immunodepletion (MARS, Agilent Technologies and ProteoSeek, Pierce Biotechnology) and one ultrafiltration (50 kDa molecular weight cutoff filter, Millipore Corporation) methods for depletion of abundant CSF proteins were compared using a graphical method to access the depth of analysis using "marker proteins" with known normal concentration ranges. Two-dimensional LC/MS/MS analysis of each depleted sample yielded 171 and 163 unique protein identifications using the MARS and ProteoSeek immunodepletion methods, respectively, while only 46 unique proteins were identified using a 50 kDa molecular weight cutoff filter. The relative abundance of the identified proteins was estimated using total spectrum counting and compared to the concentrations of 45 known proteins in CSF as markers of the analysis depth. Results of this work suggest a clear need for methodology designed specifically for depletion of high-abundance proteins in CSF, as depletion methods designed to deplete high-abundance serum proteins showed little improvement in analysis depth compared to analysis without depletion. The marker protein method should be generally useful for assessing depth of analysis in the comparison of proteomic analysis methods.     

Conservative initial postoperative anticoagulation strategy after HeartMate 3 left ventricular assist device implantation

Introduction

Although anticoagulation therapy is mandated after implantation of a left ventricular assist device (LVAD), postoperative bleedings and reoperations occur relatively frequently and are associated with worse outcomes. We evaluated the use of a conservative postoperative anticoagulation protocol in patients implanted with a HeartMate 3 (HM3) LVAD.

Methods

In a single-centre retrospective analysis of postoperative outcomes after HM3 LVAD implantation, a standard (old) anticoagulation protocol (i.e. early, full-dose anticoagulation with low-molecular weight heparin and overlapping vitamin K antagonist) was compared with a new conservative anticoagulation protocol (i.e. slow initiation of vitamin K antagonists without overlapping heparin). Main outcomes were changes in international normalised ratio (INR), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), bleeding and/or tamponade events requiring reoperation, length of stay and adverse events.

Results

In total, 73 patients (48 in old vs 25 in new protocol group) were evaluated. Mean age was 56 years (standard deviation 13) and most patients (78%) were males. Changes in INR and LDH in the first 14 days were similar in both groups (p?=?0.50 and p?=?0.997 for interaction, respectively). Number of bleeding/tamponade events requiring reoperation was lower in the new than in the old protocol group (4% vs 33%, p?=?0.005). Postoperative 30-day mortality was similar, and we observed no thromboembolic events. Median (25th–75th percentiles) total length of postoperative hospital stay (27 (25–41) vs 21 (19–27) days, p?<?0.001) and length of intensive care unit stay (5 (2–9) vs 2 (2–5) days, p?=?0.022) were significantly shorter in the new protocol group.

Conclusion

These retrospective data suggest that conservative slow initiation of anticoagulation therapy after HM3 LVAD implantation is associated with less bleeding/tamponade events requiring reoperation, a similar safety profile and a shorter duration of stay than the currently advised standard anticoagulation protocol.

     

Moral failure: a jeremiad of the war on drugs in Guatemala

The current consensus among social scientists and political pundits is that the war on drugs failed, with a raft of failed programmes, failed interventions, failed policies, and even failed states. But these critics have tended to overlook a more existential form of failure that plays a key role in the ongoing effects of the war on drugs. This failure, which anthropologists of Christianity are well positioned to understand, is the perceived failure of Pentecostal Christians to make right with the Lord. Based on extensive fieldwork in Guatemala, a country profoundly transformed by the illicit movement of cocaine from the Andes to the United States, this article assesses how and to what effect a sense of moral failure among the country's Christian communities sustains a now expansive network of Pentecostal drug rehabilitation centres. Reading one such centre's archive of intake forms as a jeremiad – a Christian lament that bemoans the failures of society to keep its covenant with God – this article concludes that a sense of moral failure sustains the fading edges of today's war on drugs.     

Heavy Rainfall,Sewer Overflows,and Salmonellosis in Black Skimmers (Rynchops niger)

EcoHealth - Extreme weather events, particularly heavy rainfall, are occurring at greater frequency with climate change. Although adverse human health effects from heavy rainfall are often...