Conn. teachers awarded for saving student with CPR

Kevin DeAngelo and Marcia Sher-Kalter said their CPR first aid certification and lifeguard training helped them respond quickly

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Human lung epithelial cells cultured in the presence of radon-emitting rock experience gene expression changes similar to those associated with tobacco smoke exposure

Publication date: January 2019

Source: Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, Volume 196

Author(s): Julie J. Loiselle, Jose M. Knee, Leslie C. Sutherland

Abstract

Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer, after tobacco smoke. While tobacco smoke-induced carcinogenesis has been studied extensively, far less is known about radon-induced carcinogenesis, particularly in relation to the influence of radon on gene expression. The objectives of the work described herein were to (a) determine if and how exposure to low dose radon-emitting rock influences cells, at the gene expression level, and (b) compare any gene expression changes resulting from the exposure to radon-emitting rock with those induced by exposure to tobacco smoke. Any potential radiation-induced gene expression changes were also compared to those induced by exposure to cannabis smoke, a non-carcinogen at low doses, used here as a smoke exposure comparator. Human lung epithelial cells were exposed to radon-emitting rock, tobacco smoke or cannabis smoke, over months, and RNA-sequencing was carried out. We found that the rock-exposed cells experienced significant gene expression changes, particularly of the gene AKR1C3, and that these changes, over time, increasingly reflected those associated with exposure to tobacco, but not cannabis, smoke. We postulate that the early gene expression changes common to both the radiation and tobacco smoke exposures constitute a related - potentially pre-carcinogenic - response. Our findings suggest that the length of time a dividing population of cells is exposed to a constant low concentration of radon (with a potential cumulative absorbed dose) could be an important risk parameter for neoplastic transformation/carcinogenesis.

Graphical abstract

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Comparison between common performance-based tests and self-reports of physical function in People with Multiple Sclerosis: Does Sex or Gender Matter?

Publication date: Available online 4 November 2018

Source: Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

Author(s): Kedar KV. Mate, Ayse Kuspinar, Sara Ahmed, Nancy E. Mayo

Abstract

Objective

To estimate the extent to which sex/gender differences affect the relationships between tests of physical performance and self-reports about function in everyday life activities. Ecological validity is an important psychometric property when choosing tests of physical function, as they need to relate to everyday function. In Multiple Sclerosis (MS), the EQUI scale, modified Canadian Aerobic Fitness Test, grip strength, vertical jump, push-up, partial curl-up, gait speed (comfortable/fast), six-minute walk test, and nine-hole peg test are commonly used but the extent to which they relate to everyday function is understudied and the extent to which ecological validity of these tests differ between women and men is unknown.

Design

A cross-sectional analysis was conducted on a random sample of men and women recruited for a study on the life-impact of MS. Correlations between pairs of performance tests of physical function (PerfO) and self-report items (SRO) pairs of variables with theoretical coherence were calculated and gender effects identified using linear regression.

Setting

Participants were recruited from MS clinic at Montreal Neurological Hospital.

Participants

The sample comprised of140 women and 48 men with MS

Interventions

Not applicable

Main Outcomes Measures

Results

The mean age of the participants was 43 (SD:10). Sixty PerfO and SRO items yielded 165 theoretically linked pairs separately for women and men. Of these 330 possible pairs, 77 pairs (23%) had correlations ≥0.8, showing strong support for the link between performance tests and everyday function; 203 pairs provided moderate support (r≥0.5). Thirty-one pairs had a statistically significant interaction with gender with men having higher correlations than women (n=27/31).

Conclusion

The results support the ecological validity for physical performance tests, particularly balance tests and particularly for men. The observation that many indicators of everyday function derived from SROs were related to physical performance supports the routine use of SROs in clinical practice to guide therapy to meet the needs of clients with MS.

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Greetings in male Guinea baboons and the function of rituals in complex social groups

Publication date: December 2018

Source: Journal of Human Evolution, Volume 125

Author(s): Federica Dal Pesco, Julia Fischer

Abstract

Ritualized greetings, defined as exchanges of non-aggressive signals, are common among males living in multi-male groups and are thought to balance the trade-offs of male co-residence. While ritualized greetings are widespread in the animal kingdom, the behavioral repertoire described in the genus Papio is exceptional, as it involves potentially harmful behaviors such as genital fondling. Although greetings are one of the most striking male social interactions in baboons, their function is still disputed. We investigated the function of male–male ritualized greeting behavior in wild Guinea baboons. This species lives in multilevel societies where several 'units' comprising a primary male, females with young, and occasionally a secondary male form a 'party', and two to three parties form a gang. Adult males maintain affiliative relationships with preferred male partners whom they support in coalitions, regardless of kinship. We examined the social behavior of 24 adolescent and adult males (∼900 h focal observations) in the Niokolo-Koba National Park, Senegal, to test whether greetings reflect relationship quality or function to buffer tension. Greetings were ten times more frequent than aggression and twice as frequent as affiliation. Neither dyadic aggression nor tense context predicted greeting rate, discounting the buffering hypothesis. Greetings occurred almost exclusively between males of the same party, even when other parties were around. Within parties, spatially tolerant partners greeted more frequently but dyads did not greet due to proximity prior to the greeting. Although affiliation did not predict overall greeting rate, intense and potentially costly greetings were more likely between males with stronger affiliative relationships. Greetings in Guinea baboons appear to signal commitment among party members, test relationships among spatially tolerant partners, and accentuate relationship strength among highly affiliated males. Although ritualized baboon greetings lack the symbolic component of human rituals, they appear to serve similar functions, specifically to strengthen in-group affiliation and promote cooperation.

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The origin and evolution of sewing technologies in Eurasia and North America

Publication date: December 2018

Source: Journal of Human Evolution, Volume 125

Author(s): Francesco d'Errico, Luc Doyon, Shuangquan Zhang, Malvina Baumann, Martina Lázničková-Galetová, Xing Gao, Fuyou Chen, Yue Zhang

Abstract

When, how, and following which paths hominins created the innovations that allowed them to colonize regions of the planet that were not suited to their thermal physiology is still a matter of inquiry. In this paper, we elaborate a theoretical framework to investigate the origin and diversification of bone needles, summarize the evidence for their emergence, create a large database of their morphometric and stylistic characters, and present results of the study of an exceptionally well-preserved collection of needles from Shuidonggou Locality 12 (SDG12), a site located in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Northern China, dated to ca. 11.2 ka BP. Bone needles are reported from 271 sites and 355 archaeological layers. Revision of the evidence shows they represent an original cultural innovation that emerged in Eurasia between 45–40 ka BP. Size differences between the earliest known specimens, found in Siberia and China, indicate needles may have been invented independently in these two regions. Needles from Eastern Europe may represent either an independent invention or a geographic extension of earlier Siberian and Caucasian sewing traditions. In Western Europe, needles appear during the Solutrean. The wider size range characteristic of Magdalenian specimens supports the idea that needles of different sizes were used in a variety of tasks. In China, the robust sub-circular needles found at sites dated between 35–25 ka BP are followed, between 26–23 ka BP, by small flat needles, which may represent an innovation associated with the microblades/microcores toolkit. At SDG12, technological, functional, and morphometric analyses of finished needles and manufacturing by-products identify two previously undetected reduction sequences for the production of needles of different size and, probably, function. The bone needles found at Paleoindian sites are the smallest and reflect a never previously achieved mastery in the production of such tools.

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Retrospective and perspective of rice breeding in China

Publication date: Available online 3 November 2018

Source: Journal of Genetics and Genomics

Author(s): Shiwei Bai, Hong Yu, Bing Wang, Jiayang Li

Abstract

Breeding is the art and science of selecting and changing crop traits for the benefit of human beings. For several decades, tremendous efforts have been made by Chinese scientists in rice breeding in improving grain yield, nutrition quality, and environmental performance, achieving substantial progresses for global food security. Several generations of crop breeding technologies have been developed, for example, selection of better performance in the field among variants (conventional breeding), application of molecular markers for precise selection (molecular marker assisted breeding), and development of molecular design (molecular breeding by rational design). In this review, we briefly summarize the advances in conventional breeding, functional genomics for genes and networks in rice that regulate important agronomic traits, and molecular breeding in China with focuses on high yield, good quality, stress tolerance, and high nutrient-use efficiency. These findings have paved a new avenue for rational design of crops to develop ideal varieties with super performance and productivity.

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Lamina‐specific population encoding of cutaneous signals in the spinal dorsal horn using multi‐electrode arrays

The Journal of Physiology, Volume 0, Issue ja, -Not available-.


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