Estimation of breast burn size

It is the authors' opinion that the size of chest burns on large-breasted women can be significantly underestimated, especially if the methods of calculation rely on burn charts, such as the Lund and Browder burns chart. This latter chart is based on data derived from only three women and eight men. The surface area of the torsos of 60 volunteers (20 men, 20 small-breasted women, and 20 large-breasted women) was measured using two well-established techniques. The torso surface area was divided into two parts: the anterior trunk and the posterior trunk (i.e., torso surface area = posterior trunk + anterior trunk). The anterior trunk was subdivided and the area above the costal margins defined as the pectoral region. These areas were measured separately for each individual. The volunteers' total body surface area was calculated using normograms, based on their weight and height. The area of each torso section was recorded as a percentage of the total body surface area and torso surface area. Whereas the torso surface area/total body surface area ratio did not vary significantly between the groups, the proportion of anterior to posterior trunk size did depend on the sex and on breast size. There was a direct correlation between the woman's bra cup size and the ratio of anterior-to-posterior trunk surface area. A simple chart was therefore derived that estimates the relative size of a woman's torso surface area once her bra cup size is known. Such a chart can be used to improve accuracy in adult female chest burn estimation, when used in conjunction with a burns chart. Breast burns in larger breasted women are underestimated when calculated using current burn charts. We recommend that a correction be made when estimating chest burns in women to account for the increased surface area of the breasts. A chart, such as the one we have developed, could be used in conjunction with a burn chart (e.g., Lund and Browder) to make this correction.     

Comparative phylogeography of coastal limpets across a marine disjunction in New Zealand

Cook Strait, which separates the North and South Island of New Zealand, has been a transient, but re-occurring feature of the New Zealand land mass throughout the Pleistocene, maintaining its current width and depth for the past 5000 years. Historic land fragmentation coupled with the complex hydrography of the Greater Cook Strait region has created both biogeographic and phylogeographic disjunctions between the North and South Island in several marine species. Here we use mitochondrial cytochrome b DNA sequences of three endemic intertidal limpets, Cellana ornata, Cellana radians and Cellana flava to assess intraspecific phylogeographic patterns across Cook Strait and to look for interspecific concordance of ecological and evolutionary processes among closely related taxa. We sequenced 328-359 bp in 85-321 individuals from 8-31 populations spanning the biogeographic range of the three species. Intraspecific phylogeographic analyses show moderate to strong genetic discontinuity among North and South Island populations due to allopatric fragmentation. This pattern was broadly concordant across the three species and the observed divergence among this group of intertidal limpets (0.3-2.0%) is similar to that of previously studied subtidal organisms. For each species, divergence time calculations suggest contemporary North and South Island lineages diverged from their respective most recent common ancestor approximately 200 000 to 300 000 years before present (bp), significantly earlier than previous estimates in other coastal marine taxa that arose from a miscalculation of divergence time.     

Effect of Capacity for Care on cat admission trends at the Guelph Humane Society, 2011–2015

In recent years, there has been a growing concern regarding populations of cats who are homeless. Shelters are constantly overwhelmed by the influx of cats without caregivers and are seeking solutions to enhance positive outcomes for them. In 2014, the Guelph Humane Society implemented a population management program to expedite the movement of cats through the shelter by decreasing the average nonhuman animal’s length of stay using scheduled intakes to control for overcrowding and by implementing strategies to increase adoption rates. This study investigated the time trends in admission rates of cats to the Guelph Humane Society to assess the effectiveness of a population management program called Capacity for Care using a generalized linear autoregressive moving average model. From January 2011 to December 2015, a total of 3295 live cats were admitted to the Guelph Humane Society. When the analysis was adjusted to account for admissions of kittens, there was a significant reduction in admissions for adult cats (p < .01) following the introduction of the population management program. The results also showed a strong seasonal peak in total admissions during the summer months.     

IRT1, an Arabidopsis transporter essential for iron uptake from the soil and for plant growth

Plants are the principal source of iron in most diets, yet iron availability often limits plant growth. In response to iron deficiency, Arabidopsis roots induce the expression of the divalent cation transporter IRT1. Here, we present genetic evidence that IRT1 is essential for the uptake of iron from the soil. An Arabidopsis knockout mutant in IRT1 is chlorotic and has a severe growth defect in soil, leading to death. This defect is rescued by the exogenous application of iron. The mutant plants do not take up iron and fail to accumulate other divalent cations in low-iron conditions. IRT1-green fluorescent protein fusion, transiently expressed in culture cells, localized to the plasma membrane. We also show, through promoter::beta-glucuronidase analysis and in situ hybridization, that IRT1 is expressed in the external cell layers of the root, specifically in response to iron starvation. These results clearly demonstrate that IRT1 is the major transporter responsible for high-affinity metal uptake under iron deficiency.     

Ten_m3 regulates eye-specific patterning in the mammalian visual pathway and is required for binocular vision

Binocular vision requires an exquisite matching of projections from each eye to form a cohesive representation of the visual world. Eye-specific inputs are anatomically segregated, but in register in the visual thalamus, and overlap within the binocular region of primary visual cortex. Here, we show that the transmembrane protein Ten_m3 regulates the alignment of ipsilateral and contralateral projections. It is expressed in a gradient in the developing visual pathway, which is consistently highest in regions that represent dorsal visual field. Mice that lack Ten_m3 show profound abnormalities in mapping of ipsilateral, but not contralateral, projections, and exhibit pronounced deficits when performing visually mediated behavioural tasks. It is likely that the functional deficits arise from the interocular mismatch, because they are reversed by acute monocular inactivation. We conclude that Ten_m3 plays a key regulatory role in the development of aligned binocular maps, which are required for normal vision.     

Maternal malaria, birth size and blood pressure in Nigerian newborns: insights into the developmental origins of hypertension from the Ibadan growth cohort

Background

Hypertension is an increasing health issue in sub-Saharan Africa where malaria remains common in pregnancy. We established a birth cohort in Nigeria to evaluate the early impact of maternal malaria on newborn blood pressure (BP).

Methods

Anthropometric measurements, BP, blood films for malaria parasites and haematocrit were obtained in 436 mother-baby pairs. Women were grouped to distinguish between the timing of malaria parasitaemia as ‘No Malaria’, ‘Malaria during pregnancy only’ or ‘Malaria at delivery’, and parasite density as low (<1000 parasites/µl of blood) and high (≥1000/µl).

Results

Prevalence of maternal malaria parasitaemia was 48%, associated with younger maternal age (p<0.001), being primigravid (p = 0.022), lower haematocrit (p = 0.028). High parasite density through pregnancy had the largest effect on mean birth indices so that weight, length, head and mid-upper arm circumferences were smaller by 300 g, 1.1 cm, 0.7 cm and 0.4 cm respectively compared with ‘No malaria’ (all p≤0.005). In babies of mothers who had ‘malaria at delivery’, their SBPs adjusted for other confounders were lower respectively by 4.3 and 5.7 mmHg/kg compared with ‘malaria during pregnancy only’ or ‘none’. In contrast the mean newborn systolic (SBP) and diastolic BPs (DBP) adjusted for birth weight were higher by 1.7 and 1.4 mmHg/kg respectively in babies whose mothers had high compared with low parasitaemia.

Conclusions

As expected, prenatal malarial exposure had a significant impact on fetal growth rates. Malaria at delivery was associated with the lowest newborn BPs while malaria through pregnancy, which may attenuate growth of the vascular network, generated higher newborn BPs adjusted for size. These neonatal findings have potential implications for cardiovascular health in sub-Saharan Africa.     

An Arabidopsis VPS45p Homolog Implicated in Protein Transport to the Vacuole

The Sec1p family of proteins is required for vesicle-mediated protein trafficking between various organelles of the endomembrane system. This family includes Vps45p, which is required for transport to the vacuole in yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae). We have isolated a cDNA encoding a VPS45 homolog from Arabidopsis thaliana (AtVPS45). The cDNA is able to complement both the temperature-sensitive growth defect and the vacuolar-targeting defect of a yeast vps45 mutant, indicating that the two proteins are functionally related. AtVPS45p is a peripheral membrane protein that associates with microsomal membranes. Sucrose-density gradient fractionation demonstrated that AtVPS45p co-fractionates with AtELP, a potential vacuolar protein sorting receptor, implying that they may reside on the same membrane populations. These results indicate that AtVPS45p is likely to function in the transport of proteins to the vacuole in plants.     

Deep-breath frequency in bronchoconstricted monkeys (Macaca fascicularis).

Deep-breath frequency has been shown to increase in spontaneously obstructed asthmatic subjects. Furthermore, deep breaths are known to be regulated by lung rapidly adapting receptors, yet the mechanism by which these receptors are stimulated is unclear. This study tested the hypothesis that deep-breath frequency increases during experimentally induced bronchoconstriction, and the magnitude of the increased deep-breath frequency is dependent on the method by which bronchoconstriction is induced. Nine cynomolgus monkeys (Macaca fascicularis) were challenged with methacholine (MCh), Ascaris suum (AS), histamine, or an external mechanical resistance. Baseline (BL) and challenge deep-breath frequency were calculated from the number of deep breaths per trial period. Airway resistance (Raw) and tissue compliance (Cti), as well as tidal volume, respiratory rate, and minute ventilation, were analyzed for BL and challenged conditions. Transfer impedance measurements were fit with the DuBois model to determine the respiratory parameters (Raw and Cti). The flow at the airway opening was measured and analyzed on a breath-by-breath basis to obtain the ventilatory parameters (tidal volume, respiratory rate, and minute ventilation). Deep-breath frequency resulting from AS and histamine challenges [0.370 (SD 0.186) and 0.467 breaths/min (SD 0.216), respectively] was significantly increased compared with BL, MCh, or external resistance challenges [0.61 (SD 0.046), 0.156 (SD 0.173), and 0.117 breaths/min (SD 0.082), respectively]. MCh and external resistance challenges resulted in insignificant changes in deep-breath frequency compared with BL. All four modalities produced similar levels of bronchoconstriction, as assessed through changes in Raw and Cti, and had similar effects on the ventilatory parameters except that non-deep-breath tidal volume was decreased in AS and histamine. We propose that increased deep-breath frequency during AS and histamine challenge is the result of increased vascular permeability, which acts to increase rapidly adapting receptor activity.     

Click and Cut: a click chemistry approach to developing oxidative DNA damaging agents

Metallodrugs provide important first-line treatment against various forms of human cancer. To overcome chemotherapeutic resistance and widen treatment possibilities, new agents with improved or alternative modes of action are highly sought after. Here, we present a click chemistry strategy for developing DNA damaging metallodrugs. The approach involves the development of a series of polyamine ligands where three primary, secondary or tertiary alkyne-amines were selected and ‘clicked’ using the copper-catalysed azide-alkyne cycloaddition reaction to a 1,3,5-azide mesitylene core to produce a family of compounds we call the ‘Tri-Click’ (TC) series. From the isolated library, one dominant ligand (TC1) emerged as a high-affinity copper(II) binding agent with potent DNA recognition and damaging properties. Using a range of in vitro biophysical and molecular techniques—including free radical scavengers, spin trapping antioxidants and base excision repair (BER) enzymes—the oxidative DNA damaging mechanism of copper-bound TC1 was elucidated. This activity was then compared to intracellular results obtained from peripheral blood mononuclear cells exposed to Cu(II)–TC1 where use of BER enzymes and fluorescently modified dNTPs enabled the characterisation and quantification of genomic DNA lesions produced by the complex. The approach can serve as a new avenue for the design of DNA damaging agents with unique activity profiles.