PARTAKE Survey of Public Knowledge and Perceptions of Clinical Research in India

Background

A public that is an informed partner in clinical research is important for ethical, methodological, and operational reasons. There are indications that the public is unaware or misinformed, and not sufficiently engaged in clinical research but studies on the topic are lacking. PARTAKE – Public Awareness of Research for Therapeutic Advancements through Knowledge and Empowerment is a program aimed at increasing public awareness and partnership in clinical research. The PARTAKE Survey is a component of the program.

Objective

To study public knowledge and perceptions of clinical research.

Methods

A 40-item questionnaire combining multiple-choice and open-ended questions was administered to 175 English- or Hindi-speaking individuals in 8 public locations representing various socioeconomic strata in New Delhi, India.

Results

Interviewees were 18–84 old (mean: 39.6, SD±16.6), 23.6% female, 68.6% employed, 7.3% illiterate, 26.3% had heard of research, 2.9% had participated and 58.9% expressed willingness to participate in clinical research. The following perceptions were reported (% true/% false/% not aware): ‘research benefits society’ (94.1%/3.5%/2.3%), ‘the government protects against unethical clinical research’ (56.7%/26.3%/16.9%), ‘research hospitals provide better care’ (67.2%/8.7%/23.9%), ‘confidentiality is adequately protected’ (54.1%/12.3%/33.5%), ‘participation in research is voluntary’ (85.3%/5.8%/8.7%); ‘participants treated like ‘guinea pigs’’ (20.7%/53.2%/26.0%), and ‘compensation for participation is adequate’ (24.7%/12.9%/62.3%).

Conclusions

Results suggest the Indian public is aware of some key features of clinical research (e.g., purpose, value, voluntary nature of participation), and supports clinical research in general but is unaware of other key features (e.g., compensation, confidentiality, protection of human participants) and exhibits some distrust in the conduct and reporting of clinical trials. Larger, cross-cultural surveys are required to inform educational programs addressing these issues.     

Theory for why dioecious plants have equal length sex chromosomes

Dioecy and sex chromosomes almost certainly evolved from ancestral hermaphrodites that only possessed autosomes. There is a growing body of evidence that genes for female or male function were then epigenetically suppressed in some of these hermaphrodites, creating the first males or females and nascent sex chromosomes. The incipient sex-determining epigenetic signals, such as cytosine methylation, then drove Muller's ratchet in many animals, resulting in shorter Y chromosomes. Based on this theory of sex chromosome evolution and limited data on gametophyte gene expression, I argue that plants should be largely immune from Muller's ratchet and therefore retain their ancestral state of equal length sex chromosomes, unless they incur chromosomal rearrangements or large-scale insertions of duplicated genomes. Usually heteromorphic sex chromosomes canalize dioecy, but extensive polyploidy or polysomy can provide an escape from this canalized dioecy. This theory implies that dioecy due to heteromorphic sex chromosomes should be evolutionarily ephemeral in bryophytes and homosporous pteridophytes because of their extraordinarily high incidences of polyploidy. And, if anything, these very high incidences of polyploidy are responsible for translocation or gradual addition of beneficial genes, rather than gradual reduction in the length of a sex chromosome.     

Collection of tissue and culture samples from the canine reproductive tract

Definitive diagnosis of reproductive tract infection or other disease often requires sampling of tissue, either for culture or histopathology. Indications, sample collection technique, possible side-effects and interpretation of results are reviewed. Pertinent facts include: (1) collection of uterine biopsy specimens via laparotomy was associated with higher yield of diagnostic samples and fewer side-effects than other less invasive techniques; (2) vaginal culture samples should be collected from the anterior vagina to minimize number of contaminants in the sample; (3) collection of culture samples from the anterior vagina during proestrus or estrus, in the presence of discharge originating in the uterus, was a non-invasive technique for assessment for uterine infection; (4) samples for bacterial culture from mucosal surfaces, including the vagina and penis, must be quantitated to allow interpretation, with moderate to heavy growth of any single aerobic bacterial organism relevant; (5) mycoplasma and ureaplasma are part of the normal flora of the genitourinary tract in dogs and bitches and, because most laboratories cannot give reliable quantitative results, interpretation of positive results often is difficult; (6) collection of prostatic tissue samples for cytology or culture was more likely to yield a correct diagnosis than submission of ejaculated prostatic fluid.     

Macroevolution and climate change influence phylogenetic community assembly of North American hoofed mammals

Animal richness, community composition, and phylogenetic community structure (PCS) vary across the modern landscape. Animal communities vary from phylogenetically clustered (i.e. higher relatedness amongst co‐occurring species than is expected by chance) to phylogenetically even (i.e. co‐occurring taxa are more distantly related than expected by chance), which is explained by abiotic or climatic filtering and competitive exclusion, respectively. Under this model, the contribution of historical origination and extinction events to modern animal PCS remains relatively unknown. Because origination and extinction determine the make‐up of the terrestrial community, the study of historical changes in animal PCS is tantamount to understanding formation of modern communities. In the present study, we test the effects of macroevolution and climate changes on ‘hoofed mammals’ (i.e. perissodactyl and artiodactyl) PCS from the late Cenozoic of North America because they experience large, phylogenetically dispersed extinctions of browsing species and phylogenetically dispersed originations of grazing species associated with the evolution of grassland ecosystems during the late Miocene. We show that the loss of numerically dominant nonhypsodont (putatively browsing and mixed feeding) clades and phylogenetically dispersed origination of less speciose clades following the mid Miocene climatic optimum led to an increase in phylogenetic evenness at the regional scale that is well explained by global climate changes. Phylogenetic evenness and a reduced richness during the late Cenozoic may have facilitated reduced niche overlap among co‐occurring hoofed mammal species as global climates cooled. © 2015 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2015, 114 , 485–494.     

Population dynamics of a diverse rodent assemblage in mixed grass-shrub habitat, southeastern Colorado, 1995-2000

We followed seasonal and year-to-year population dynamics for a diverse rodent assemblage in a short-grass prairie ecosystem in southeastern Colorado (USA) for 6 yr. We captured 2,798 individual rodents (range, one to 812 individuals per species) belonging to 19 species. The two most common species, deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) and western harvest mice (Reithrodontomys megalotis), generally had population peaks in winter and nadirs in summer; several other murid species demonstrated autumn peaks and spring nadirs; heteromyids were infrequently captured in winter, and populations generally peaked in summer or autumn. Inter-annual trends indicated an interactive effect between temperature and precipitation. Conditions associated with low rodent populations or population declines were high precipitation during cold periods (autumn and winter) and low precipitation during warm periods (spring and summer). Severity of adverse effects varied by species. Heteromyids, for example, were apparently not negatively affected by the hot, dry spring and summer of 2000. Cross-correlations for the temporal series of relative population abundances between species pairs (which are affected by both seasonal and interannual population dynamics) revealed positive associations among most murids and among most heteromyids, but there were negative associations between murids and heteromyids. These results have important implications for those attempting to model population dynamics of rodent populations for purposes of predicting disease risk.     

Comparison of Quinone‐Based Catholytes for Aqueous Redox Flow Batteries and Demonstration of Long‐Term Stability with Tetrasubstituted Quinones

Quinones are appealing targets as organic charge carriers for aqueous redox flow batteries (RFBs), but their utility continues to be constrained by limited stability under operating conditions. The present study evaluates the stability of a series of water‐soluble quinones, with redox potentials ranging from 605–885 mV versus NHE, under acidic aqueous conditions (1 m H₂SO₄). Four of the quinones are examined as cathodic electrolytes in an aqueous RFB, paired with anthraquinone‐2,7‐disulfonate as the anodic electrolyte. The RFB data complement other solution stability tests and show that the most stable electrolyte is a tetrasubstituted quinone containing four sulfonated thioether substituents. The results highlight the importance of substituting all C–H positions of the quinone in order to maximize the quinone stability and set the stage for design of improved organic electrolytes for aqueous RFBs.     

Yersinia enterocolitica and related species isolated from wildlife in New York State.

Fecal specimens for Yersinia screening were obtained from a variety of wild mammals, birds, reptiles, fish, and invertebrates throughout New York State. One specimen from each of 1,426 animals was examined. A total of 148 isolates of Yersinia enterocolitica and related species were obtained from 133 (9.3%) of the animals. Y. enterocolitica was isolated from 100 (7%) of the animals tested, including 81 (10%) of 812 mammals and 19 (3.3%) of 573 birds. Y. intermedia, Y. frederiksenii, and Y. kristensenii were isolated from 39 (2.7%), 5 (0.35%), and 4 (0.28%) animals, respectively. The 81 Y. enterocolitica isolates from mammals belonged to 15 serogroups and included three pathogens: two isolates of typical serogroup 0:8, the "American strain," one from a gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) and one from a porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum); and one isolate of serogroup 0:3, bacteriophage type IXb, the "Canadian strain," from a gray fox. The most prevalent serogroups recovered from mammals were 0:6,31 (16 isolates) and 0:5,27 (6 isolates). The 19 isolates of Y. enterocolitica from birds belonged to nine serogroups and included one serogroup 0:6,31 isolate from a common grackle (Quiscalus quiscula) and two serogroup 0:5,27 isolates from great horned owls (Bubo virginianus).     

A presynaptic gain control mechanism fine-tunes olfactory behavior

Early sensory processing can play a critical role in sensing environmental cues. We have investigated the physiological and behavioral function of gain control at the first synapse of olfactory processing in Drosophila. Olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs) express the GABA(B) receptor (GABA(B)R), and its expression expands the dynamic range of ORN synaptic transmission that is preserved in projection neuron responses. Strikingly, each ORN channel has a unique baseline level of GABA(B)R expression. ORNs that sense the aversive odorant CO(2) do not express GABA(B)Rs and do not have significant presynaptic inhibition. In contrast, pheromone-sensing ORNs express a high level of GABA(B)Rs and exhibit strong presynaptic inhibition. Furthermore, pheromone-dependent mate localization is impaired in flies that lack GABA(B)Rs in specific ORNs. These findings indicate that different olfactory receptor channels employ heterogeneous presynaptic gain control as a mechanism to allow an animal's innate behavioral responses to match its ecological needs.