More a finger than a nose: The trigeminal motor and sensory innervation of the Schnauzenorgan in the elephant-nose Fish Gnathonemus petersii

The weakly electric fish Gnathonemus petersii uses its electric sense to actively probe the environment. Its highly mobile chin appendage, the Schnauzenorgan, is rich in electroreceptors. Physical measurements have demonstrated the importance of the position of the Schnauzenorgan in funneling the fish's self-generated electric field. The present study focuses on the trigeminal motor pathway that controls Schnauzenorgan movement and on its trigeminal sensory innervation and central representation. The nerves entering the Schnauzenorgan are very large and contain both motor and sensory trigeminal components as well as an electrosensory pathway. With the use of neurotracer techniques, labeled Schnauzenorgan motoneurons were found throughout the ventral main body of the trigeminal motor nucleus but not among the population of larger motoneurons in its rostrodorsal region. The Schnauzenorgan receives no motor or sensory innervation from the facial nerve. There are many anastomoses between the peripheral electrosensory and trigeminal nerves, but these senses remain separate in the sensory ganglia and in their first central relays. Schnauzenorgan trigeminal primary afferent projections extend throughout the descending trigeminal sensory nuclei, and a few fibers enter the facial lobe. Although no labeled neurons could be identified in the brain as the trigeminal mesencephalic root, some Schnauzenorgan trigeminal afferents terminated in the trigeminal motor nucleus, suggesting a monosynaptic, possibly proprioceptive, pathway. In this first step toward understanding multimodal central representation of the Schnauzenorgan, no direct interconnections were found between the trigeminal sensory and electromotor command system, or the electrosensory and trigeminal motor command. The pathways linking perception to action remain to be studied. J. Comp. Neurol. 523:769–789, 2015. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

A review of consumer awareness, understanding and use of food-based dietary guidelines

Food-based dietary guidelines (FBDG) have primarily been designed for the consumer to encourage healthy, habitual food choices, decrease chronic disease risk and improve public health. However, minimal research has been conducted to evaluate whether FBDG are utilised by the public. The present review used a framework of three concepts, awareness, understanding and use, to summarise consumer evidence related to national FBDG and food guides. Searches of nine electronic databases, reference lists and Internet grey literature elicited 939 articles. Predetermined exclusion criteria selected twenty-eight studies for review. These consisted of qualitative, quantitative and mixed study designs, non-clinical participants, related to official FBDG for the general public, and involved measures of consumer awareness, understanding or use of FBDG. The three concepts of awareness, understanding and use were often discussed interchangeably. Nevertheless, a greater amount of evidence for consumer awareness and understanding was reported than consumer use of FBDG. The twenty-eight studies varied in terms of aim, design and method. Study quality also varied with raw qualitative data, and quantitative method details were often omitted. Thus, the reliability and validity of these review findings may be limited. Further research is required to evaluate the efficacy of FBDG as a public health promotion tool. If the purpose of FBDG is to evoke consumer behaviour change, then the framework of consumer awareness, understanding and use of FBDG may be useful to categorise consumer behaviour studies and complement the dietary survey and health outcome data in the process of FBDG evaluation and revision.     

Do positive or negative experiences of social support relate to current and future health? Results from the Doetinchem Cohort Study

Background  

Cross-sectional studies have reported associations between social support and health, but prospective evidence is less conclusive. This study aims to investigate the associations of positive and negative experiences of social support with current and future lifestyle factors, biological risk factors, self-perceived health and mental health over a 10-year period.     

Attitudes of Physicians and Pharmacists Towards International Non‐Proprietary Name Prescribing in Belgium

International Non‐proprietary Name (INN) prescribing is the use of the name of the active ingredient(s) instead of the brand name for prescribing. In Belgium, INN prescribing began in 2005 and a major policy change occurred in 2012. The aim was to explore the opinions of Dutch‐speaking general practitioners (GPs) and pharmacists. An electronic questionnaire with 39 five‐point Likert scale statements and one open question was administered in 2013. Multivariate analysis was performed with multiple linear regression on a sum score for benefit statements and for drawback statements. Answers to the open question were qualitatively analysed. We received 745 valid responses with a representable sample for both subgroups. Participants perceived the motives to introduce INN prescribing as purely economic (to reduce pharmaceutical expenditures for the government and the patient). Participants accepted the concept of INN prescribing, but 88% stressed the importance of guaranteed treatment continuity, especially in older, chronic patients, to prevent patient confusion, medication non‐adherence and erroneous drug use. In conclusion, the current way in which INN prescribing is applied in Belgium leads to many concerns among primary health professionals about patient confusion and medication adherence. Slightly adapting the current concept of INN prescribing to these concerns can turn INN prescribing into one of the major policies in Belgium to reduce pharmaceutical expenditures and to stimulate rational drug prescribing.     

Intestinal uptake of genistein and its glycoside in the rat using various isolated perfused gut segments

Genistein receives much attention because of its potential to prevent hormone-related cancer and cardiovascular diseases. Limited information is available on the pharmacokinetics of this compound like, for instance, their intestinal uptake by humans and systematic bioavailability. In this study, the fate of the absorption of genistein and its glycoside has been analysed in various isolated perfused gut segments of the rat. In all perfused gut segments the transport of genistein was higher compared to its glycoside. Furthermore, it appeared that the resorbate (i.e. serosal side) concentration of genistein was the highest in ileac segments, whereas the transport of genistein in the various other segments tested showed no difference between intestinal compartments. Less than 0.2% of genistin appeared in the resorbate fluid of all isolated gut segments. The main site of metabolism of genistein and its glycoside appears to be located in the jejunal compartment of the rat gut. About 38% of genistein and about 29% of genistin metabolised within 2h of perfusion. In the ileac and colonic intestinal segments, genistein metabolised for only 10%. For the first time, this study demonstrated that genistin could be metabolised by epithelial cells present in isolated colonic segments. However, the metabolites of genistin did not occur at the serosal side (the resorbate) of isolated colonic segments. We assume that there is no absorption of genistin and/or its metabolites in or through colonic tissue of the rat.     

Vitamin E and depressive symptoms are not related. The Rotterdam Study

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the reported association between low vitamin E levels and depressive symptoms in a population-based study. METHODS: The study is based on a cohort of 3884 adults aged 60 years and over who participated in the third survey of the Rotterdam Study, were screened for depressive symptoms with the Center of Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale and from whom blood was drawn. All screen-positive subjects had a psychiatric work-up. Blood levels of vitamin E were compared between 262 cases with depressive symptoms and 459 randomly selected reference subjects. All analyses were stratified by sex, and adjusted for age, cholesterol, cognitive score, smoking, dietary supplement use, marital status, living alone, and functional disability score. RESULTS: Vitamin E levels in men with depressive symptoms were lower than in non-depressed men after adjusting for age, whereas no such difference was found in women. This association in men was substantially weakened after controlling for biological factors, and disappeared with additional adjustment for nutritional behaviour and social factors. No differences were observed when the analyses were restricted to cases with depression as defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV. CONCLUSIONS: After control for several biological and behavioural factors relating to health we found no association between low vitamin E levels and depressive symptoms or depression in the elderly.     

Rapid detection of 17p11.2 rearrangements by FISH without cell culture (direct FISH,DFISH): a prospective study of 130 patients with inherited peripheral neuropathies

Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease and hereditary neuropathy with pressure palsies (HNPP) are two frequent hereditary motor and sensory neuropathies. CMT is characterized by slowly progressive weakness and atrophy, primarily in peroneal and distal leg muscles. The most frequent form, CMT1A, is due, in most cases, to the duplication of a 1.5 Mb region on chromosome 17p11.2 containing the peripheral myelin protein 22 gene (PMP22). The phenotype seems to result from dosage of the PMP22 gene. This hypothesis is reinforced by the existence of HNPP, which is clinically characterized by various recurrent truncular palsies or sensory loss precipitated by minor trauma, which is caused by deletion of the same 1.5 Mb region in 17p11.2. In clinical practice, the detection of the duplication or the deletion in 17p11.2, which permits a positive diagnosis, is still performed by time consuming methods (Southern blot or various combinations of molecular tools). We developed a method for the rapid detection of 17p11.2 rearrangements, using "direct FISH" and PRINS analyses, which does not require cell culture. In a prospective study of 92 patients with CMT and 38 with suspected HNPP, we compared this new technique to classical strategies like Southern blot. The results demonstrate the high sensitivity and specificity of the new FISH technique for the diagnosis of CMT1A and HNPP. Moreover, because of its simplicity and rapidity, this technique provides a useful alternative to the molecular approaches that have been used to diagnose segmental aneusomies, especially in the case of duplications that often go undetected.     

Microbiological Challenges in the Diagnosis of Chronic Q Fever

Diagnosis of chronic Q fever is difficult. PCR and culture lack sensitivity; hence, diagnosis relies mainly on serologic tests using an immunofluorescence assay (IFA). Optimal phase I IgG cutoff titers are debated but are estimated to be between 1:800 and 1:1,600. In patients with proven, probable, or possible chronic Q fever, we studied phase I IgG antibody titers at the time of positive blood PCR, at diagnosis, and at peak levels during chronic Q fever. We evaluated 200 patients, of whom 93 (46.5%) had proven, 51 (25.5%) had probable, and 56 (28.0%) had possible chronic Q fever. Sixty-five percent of proven cases had positive Coxiella burnetii PCR results for blood, which was associated with high phase I IgG. Median phase I IgG titers at diagnosis and peak titers in patients with proven chronic Q fever were significantly higher than those for patients with probable and possible chronic Q fever. The positive predictive values for proven chronic Q fever, compared to possible chronic Q fever, at titers 1:1,024, 1:2,048, 1:4,096, and ≥1:8,192 were 62.2%, 66.7%, 76.5%, and ≥86.2%, respectively. However, sensitivity dropped to <60% when cutoff titers of ≥1:8,192 were used. Although our study demonstrated a strong association between high phase I IgG titers and proven chronic Q fever, increasing the current diagnostic phase I IgG cutoff to >1:1,024 is not recommended due to increased false-negative findings (sensitivity < 60%) and the high morbidity and mortality of untreated chronic Q fever. Our study emphasizes that serologic results are not diagnostic on their own but should always be interpreted in combination with clinical parameters.     

Validation of the Simulated Vaginal Hysterectomy Trainer

Study Objective

To establish construct validity of the simulated vaginal hysterectomy trainer (SimVaHT).