Periodicity and time trends in the prevalence of total births and conceptions with congenital malformations among Jews and Muslims in Israel, 1999‐2006: A time series study of 823,966 births

BACKGROUND Congenital malformations (CMs) are a leading cause of infant disability. Geophysical patterns such as 2‐year, yearly, half‐year, 3‐month, and lunar cycles regulate much of the temporal biology of all life on Earth and may affect birth and birth outcomes in humans. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate and compare trends and periodicity in total births and CM conceptions in two Israeli populations. METHODS Poisson nonlinear models (polynomial) were applied to study and compare trends and geophysical periodicity cycles of weekly births and weekly prevalence rate of CM (CMPR), in a time‐series design of conception date within and between Jews and Muslims. The population included all live births and stillbirths (n = 823,966) and CM (three anatomic systems, eight CM groups [n = 2193]) in Israel during 2000 to 2006. Data were obtained from the Ministry of Health. RESULTS We describe the trend and periodicity cycles for total birth conceptions. Of eight groups of CM, periodicity cycles were statistically significant in four CM groups for either Jews or Muslims. Lunar month and biennial periodicity cycles not previously investigated in the literature were found to be statistically significant. Biennial cycle was significant in total births (Jews and Muslims) and syndactyly (Muslims), whereas lunar month cycle was significant in total births (Muslims) and atresia of small intestine (Jews). CONCLUSION We encourage others to use the method we describe as an important tool to investigate the effects of different geophysical cycles on human health and pregnancy outcomes, especially CM, and to compare between populations. Birth Defects Research (Part A) 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Sublethal effects of neuroactive compounds on pheromone response thresholds in male oriental fruit moths

The pheromone-mediated flight behavior of male Oriental fruit moths in a sustained-flight tunnel was observed after males were treated topically with sublethal concentrations of permethrin, carbaryl, chlordimeform, dieldrin, octopamine, serotonin, yohimbine, and cyproheptadine. With the exception of serotonin all compounds were found to disrupt one or more specific elements of the male precopulatory flight sequence. Among the insecticides, dieldrin was least active, whereas permethrin, carbaryl, and chlordimeform induced unique effects at specific phases of the sequence. Octopamine induced a hypersensitivity to the olfactory signal and mimicked one of the effects observed with chlordimeform. Yohimbine and cyproheptadine significantly decreased moth activation to the chemical signal but did not alter flight performance in responding moths. Yohimbine and cyproheptadine also reversed the effects induced by octopamine. The results of our study show that the complex precopulatory sequence of behaviors exhibited by males is very sensitive to sublethal concentrations of a range of neuroactive compounds.     

Effects of dietary chlortetracycline on the antimicrobial resistance of broiler faecal Streptococcaceae

A breeder flock and a control group of progeny birds were fed antimicrobial-free rations; a second group of progeny received rations supplemented with 50 g chlortetracycline (Ctc)/ton. Effects of dietary Ctc on the distribution of species and biotypes of faecal Gram-positive cocci and their relative resistance to 12 antimicrobial agents were studied. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) pattern diversity and modal AMR patterns were determined for bacterial species common to all three groups. Numerical taxonomic analysis placed 1321 (97%) of 1360 isolates into eight species or biotypes. The largest cluster ( n = 659, 48%) was a biotype of Streptococcus faecalis. Three clusters were biotypes of Streptococcus faecium and contained 580 isolates (42%). The isolates were susceptible to ampicillin and almost uniformly resistant to methicillin, neomycin, streptomycin, sulfadiazine and tetracycline. There were 54 and 47 different AMR patterns, including 0 to 11 and 1 to 11 resistance determinants, in isolates from control and Ctc-fed birds, respectively. Modal AMR patterns for Strep. faecalis and one biotype of Strep. faecium were very similar for all three groups of birds. However, modal patterns in a second biotype of Strep. faecium varied considerably for all three groups. Interpretation of AMR pattern diversities were equivocal among biotypes from both progeny groups. The variable distribution of isolates, proportions of resistant strains, modal patterns and diversity indices among the progeny were probably due to their exposure to different environmental sources of bacteria.     

Zum sozialen Verhalten eines Rotwildrudels(Cervus elaphus) am Winterfütterungsplatz: Räumliche Verteilung am Futterplatz

European Journal of Wildlife Research - Die räumliche Verteilung eines Rotwildrudels an den „Freßplätzen“ einer Winterfütterung in den Bayerischen Voralpen wurde in...     

1H Quantitative NMR analyses of β-asarone and related compounds for quality control of Acorus rhizome herbal drugs in terms of the effects of their constituents on in vitro acetylcholine esterase activity

We used quantitative nuclear magnetic resonance analyses to measure the contents of major constituents of Acorus rhizome materials used as herbal drugs. The inhibitory effects of crude n-hexane extracts and their individual constituents on in vitro acetylcholine esterase activity were evaluated. The crude extracts had unexpectedly weak inhibitory effects (46–64% inhibition at 1.0 mg/mL), despite the high content (46–64%) of β-asarone, which independently had a potent effect (IC₅₀ 2.9 µM [0.61 µg/mL]). Further investigation revealed participation of eudesmin A, a lignan constituent, in the suppression of the inhibitory effect of β-asarone.     

A quantitative study of tissue dynamics in Venus's flytrap Dionaea muscipula (Droseraceae). II. Trap reopening

Changes in normalized cell length (NCL) and tissue volume densities (V_v) of five trap tissues were studied during reopening of fully closed traps of Venus's flytrap (Dionaea muscipula Ellis). Four trap-reopening stages were identified based on morphological changes observed in time-lapse video: (1) Sealed—the last stage of trap closure before the trap began to reopen; (2) Deappressed—characterized by a convex bulge in the upper region of the trap; (3) Release—in which the bulge region moved closer to the trap margins initiating lobe separation while the marginal tynes remained interdigitated; (4) Fully opened—the trap lobes assumed a morphology similar to that of a nonstimulated trap. Morphological changes associated with trap reopening occurred as a series of relatively fast (l-5h) and slow (10-15 h) movements and appeared to be a reversal of the morphologies observed during trap closure. However, comparison of changes in NCL of trap tissues during closure and reopening showed very little statistical correlation indicating that the tissue dynamics associated with trap closure were not simply reversed during reopening. Although the precise cell movements that provided driving force for trap morphological change were not delineated in this study, comparison of NCL data suggested that tissues in the trap lobe were alternately “active” and “quiescent” in temporally and regionally complex patterns. Changes in the NCL of analogous tissues on opposite sides of the mid-trap tissues within a trap region showed high positive correlation values, which indicated the possibility of coordinated activity in opposing tissues.     

Further characterization of the phosphate moiety of the adenovirus type 2 DNA-binding protein

The adenovirus type 2 DNA-binding protein is phosphorylated. Alkaline phosphatase treatment removes phosphate groups resulting in a decrease in molecular weight from 72000 to 70000. The dephosphorylated protein binds to single-stranded and double-stranded DNA as well as the phosphorylated protein does. Controlled chymotrypsin treatment cleaves the DNA-binding protein into two subspecies of Mr about 45000 and 25000. The 45000-Mr polypeptide contains most of the methionine residues but no phosphate and binds to DNA. The 25000-Mr polypeptide contains all the phosphate groups and shows no binding to DNA. Isoelectric focusing gels show heterogeneity of the DNA-binding protein and 15 subspecies with different charges can be observed after partial dephosphorylation by alkaline phosphatase. After extensive dephosphorylation two or three basic species with a molecular weight around 70000 are observed. Quantitative immunoprecipitation from cells labeled to equilibrium with inorganic 32PO4 gives a molar ratio of phosphate to protein of 4--7 and direct chemical determination of the phosphate residues yields 4 mol Pi/mol protein. These results suggest that there exist subspecies of the protein moiety of the adenovirus DNA-binding protein. The DNA-binding protein isolated from infected cells after a short 'pulse' of [35S]methionine has a molecular weight which corresponds to that of the dephosphorylated protein. After a 'chase' period the molecular weight increases to 72000, but alkaline phosphatase treatment converts it to a species with the same molecular weight as the newly synthesized DNA-binding protein, indicating that the modification of the protein is due to phosphorylation.     

Lipid molecular timeline profiling reveals diurnal crosstalk between the liver and circulation

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