Genetic screening for Alzheimer's disease: what factors predict intentions to take a test?

The authors investigated factors that predict intention to take a genetic test for Alzheimer's disease (AD). The 449 men and women were surveyed in two groups: (a) those told that a positive result meant a 90% chance of developing AD (increased certainty) and (b) those told that a positive result meant a 50% chance of developing AD (decreased certainty). Participants completed measures of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), anticipated regret, risk perception, likelihood of taking a genetic test for cancer, and AD risk factors. Just over 50% of the variance in intentions was related to TPB variables, likelihood of taking a genetic test for cancer, number of people the participants knew who had AD, experimental condition, and anticipated regret. The subjective norm was the strongest predictor of intention in the increased certainty group, whereas positive belief was the strongest predictor in the decreased certainty group.     

Fluorescent amplified fragment length polymorphism genotyping of Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli strains and its relationship with host specificity, serotyping, and phage typing

Fluorescent amplified fragment length polymorphism (FAFLP) analysis was applied to 276 Campylobacter jejuni strains and 87 Campylobacter coli strains isolated from humans, pigs, cattle, poultry, and retail meats to investigate whether certain FAFLP genotypes of C. jejuni and C. coli are associated with a particular host and to determine the degree of association between FAFLP-defined genotypes and heat-stable serotypes and/or phage types. Within C. coli, the poultry strains clustered separately from those of porcine origin. In contrast, no evidence of host specificity was detected among C. jejuni strains. While C. coli strains show host specificity by FAFLP genotyping, C. jejuni strains that are genotypically similar appear to colonize a range of hosts, rather than being host adapted. Some serotypes and/or phage types (C. jejuni serotype HS18, phage type PT6, and serophage type HS19/PT2 and C. coli HS66, PT2, and HS56/PT2) were the most homogeneous by FAFLP genotyping, while others were more heterogeneous (C. jejuni HS5 and PT39, and C. coli HS24 and PT44) and therefore poor indicators of genetic relatedness between strains. The lack of host specificity in C. jejuni suggests that tracing the source of infection during epidemiological investigations will continue to be difficult. The lack of congruence between some serotypes and/or phage types and FAFLP genotype underlines the need for phenotypic testing to be supplemented by genotyping. This study also demonstrates how, in general, FAFLP generates "anonymous" genetic markers for strain characterization and epidemiological investigation of Campylobacter in the food chain.     

Rapid protection of gnotobiotic pigs against experimental salmonellosis following induction of polymorphonuclear leukocytes by avirulent Salmonella enterica

Oral inoculation of 5-day-old gnotobiotic pigs with Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium strain F98 resulted in severe enteritis and invasive disease. Preinoculation 24 h earlier with an avirulent mutant of Salmonella enterica serovar Infantis (1326/28) completely prevented disease for up to 14 days (when the experiment was terminated). S. enterica serovar Infantis colonized the alimentary tract well, with high bacterial counts in the intestinal lumen but with almost no invasion into the tissues. Unprotected pigs had high S. enterica serovar Typhimurium counts in the intestines, blood, and major nonintestinal organs. Recovery of this strain from the blood and major organs in S. enterica serovar Infantis-protected pigs was substantially reduced despite the fact that intestinal counts were also very high. Protection against disease thus did not involve a colonization exclusion phenomenon. Significant (P < 0.05) infiltration of monocytes/macrophages was observed in the submucosal regions of the intestines of both S. enterica serovar Infantis-protected S. enterica serovar Typhimurium-challenged pigs and unprotected S. enterica serovar Typhimurium-challenged pigs. However, only polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMNs) were observed throughout the villus, where significant (P < 0.05) numbers infiltrated the lamina propria and the subnuclear and supranuclear regions of the epithelia, indicating that PMN induction and positioning following S. enterica serovar Infantis inoculation was consistent with rapid protection against the challenge strain. Similarly, in vitro experiments using a human fetal intestinal epithelial cell line (INT 407) demonstrated that, although significantly (P < 0.05) fewer S. enterica serovar Infantis than S. enterica serovar Typhimurium organisms invaded the monolayers, S. enterica serovar Infantis induced an NF-kappaB response and significantly (P < 0.05) raised interleukin 8 levels and transmigration of porcine PMN. The results of this study suggest that attenuated Salmonella strains can protect the immature intestine against clinical salmonellosis by PMN induction. They also demonstrate that PMN induction is not necessarily associated with clinical symptoms and/or intestinal pathology.     

Double-opponent-process mechanism underlying RF-structure of directionally specific cells of cat lateral suprasylvian visual area

Summary For the experiments reported in this study, recordings were obtained from 246 single units in the middle lateral suprasylvian visual area (LS) of 13 cats. 49 of these cells were subjected to detailed quantitative analysis. The receptive field (RF) organization was examined for directionally specific cells by presenting moving single spots on large moving random dot backgrounds. A cell's response to an optimal spot (in terms of size, direction, velocity) moving on a stationary background inside the excitatory RF (ERF) was compared to in-phase (same direction, same velocity) and anti-phase (opposite direction, same velocity) movement of spot and background. In-phase movement resulted in inhibition of the cell's response (3–100%) in 94% of the cells, while anti-phase movement led to reduced inhibition in 52% of the cells or to facilitation (0.5–327%) in 39% of the cells. By changing the direction of background motion with respect to that of the spot, the directional tuning of the in-phase inhibition and anti-phase facilitation effects was determined.We were able to manipulate the size of the background effects by masking out the background for various proportions of the ERF, and maximizing them by restricting background stimulation to the large inhibitory RF (IRF) surrounding the ERF. These results could be best accounted for by a double-opponent-process mechanism with both RF center and RF surround being directionally selective, but with opposite polarity. It is suggested that this type of mechanism could be involved in the processing of object motion.Partially supported by an NSERC University Research Fellowship (U 0057) and an ARC equipment grant to M. von Grünau and by an NSERC Grant to B. J. Frost (A 0353)     

Randomized controlled trial of brief cognitive behaviour therapy versus treatment as usual in recurrent deliberate self-harm: the POPMACT study

BACKGROUND: We carried out a large randomized trial of a brief form of cognitive therapy, manual-assisted cognitive behaviour therapy (MACT) versus treatment as usual (TAU) for deliberate self-harm. METHOD: Patients presenting with recurrent deliberate self-harm in five centres were randomized to either MACT or (TAU) and followed up over 1 year. MACT patients received a booklet based on cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) principles and were offered up to five plus two booster sessions of CBT from a therapist in the first 3 months of the study. Ratings of parasuicide risk, anxiety, depression, social functioning and global function, positive and negative thinking, and quality of life were measured at baseline and after 6 and 12 months. RESULTS: Four hundred and eighty patients were randomized. Sixty per cent of the MACT group had both the booklet and CBT sessions. There were seven suicides, five in the TAU group. The main outcome measure, the proportion of those repeating deliberate self-harm in the 12 months of the study, showed no significant difference between those treated with MACT (39%) and treatment as usual (46%) (OR 0.78, 95% CI 0.53 to 1.14, P=0.20). CONCLUSION: Brief cognitive behaviour therapy is of limited efficacy in reducing self-harm repetition, but the findings taken in conjunctin with the economic evaluation (Byford et al. 2003) indicate superiority of MACT over TAU in terms of cost and effectiveness combined.     

An immunocytochemical marker for hamster retinal ganglion cells

Summary We examined the specificity and developmental time course of the labelling of retinal ganglion cells in Syrian hamsters by a monoclonal antibody AB5. In adult hamsters, AB5 selectively labelled somata in the ganglion cell layer, dendrites in the inner plexiform layer and axons in the nerve fibre layer. When retinal ganglion cells were retrogradely labelled with Dil prior to AB5 immunocytochemistry, all of the retrogradely labelled retinal ganglion cells in the ganglion cell layer were AB5 immunoreactive, indicating that AB5 labels all classes of ganglion cell in that layer. In retinae depleted of retinal ganglion cells by neonatal optic nerve transections, AB5 did not label any somata or processes, indicating that AB5 specifically labels retinal ganglion cells. During development, AB5 labelling first appeared as a weak staining of cell bodies in the ganglion cell layer on postnatal day 12 (P12; PO=first 24 h following birth) and acquired the staining pattern seen in the adult by postnatal day 14. From the onset of AB5 immunoreactivity, AB5-labelled somata of varying sizes were present across the entire retinal surface. Although AB5 labelled retinal ganglion cell axons in the nerve fibre layer of the retina it did not label the optic nerve or retinal ganglion cell axons in the brain at any age examined. AB5 labelling was also found to be compatible with bromodeoxyuridine immunocytochemistry and, therefore, useful for determining the time of generation of hamster retinal ganglion cells.     

Detection of heat-stable antigens of Campylobacter jejuni and C. coli by direct agglutination and passive hemagglutination

The two serotyping schemes for the detection of heat-stable antigens of Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli use the same strains for antiserum production but differ in the detection systems used for identifying agglutination. The Penner method uses passive hemagglutination (PHA) while the Laboratory of Enteric Pathogens method uses the same antisera but in a whole-bacterial-cell direct agglutination (DA) protocol. C. jejuni produces a polysaccharide capsule, which is antigenic, and is the main component detected by the PHA method. The DA method will detect both capsule antigens and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or lipooligosaccharide (LOS) surface antigens. Comparison of both methods by using a selection of isolates from human infection has shown a range of variation in agglutination specificity, reflecting the differences in antigens detected by the two methods. While 27.4% of the 416 C. jejuni isolates reacted with the antisera raised against the same type strains by either method, the majority showed a range of more complex relationships. None of the 37 C. coli isolates reacted with the same antiserum by both methods. Together the two schemes gave a total of 102 distinct combined serogroups for C. jejuni and 16 for C. coli. Thus, while some clonally related isolates share the same capsule and LOS or LPS antigens, other strains appear to have a common capsule antigen but differ in their LPS or LOS structures or vice versa.     

Comparison of Frontal EMG Biofeedback and Several Types of Relaxation Instructions in Reducing Multiple Indices of Arousal

During the training phase, 96 subjects were given one of four types of relaxation instructions (single instructions, repeated instructions, relaxation training, no instructions) and in addition either did or did not receive frontal EMG biofeedback training. Results indicated that each of the instructions and biofeedback procedures were equally effective in reducing frontal EMG, but that none of these procedures had any effect on subjective anxiety or autonomic indices of arousal (pulse rate, skin temperature, and finger pulse volume). During the generalization/stress phase, subjects were threatened with electric shock and were told to apply the relaxation techniques they learned during the training phase even though no additional instructions and/ or biofeedback training would be provided. To assess the effectiveness of the shock manipulation, a no-threat control group was included. Results indicated that: a) the shock manipulation was effective in increasing arousal, b) previous instructions and/or biofeedback were equally effective in reducing frontal EMG levels, but that c) only relaxation training was consistently effective in reducing subjective and autonomic indices of arousal. These findings: a) suggest that in stressful situations, relaxation training may be more effective than either EMG biofeedback or simple relaxation instructions in producing a general relaxation effect as opposed to a specific EMG effect; and b) indicate the importance of assessing the effectiveness of relaxation procedures during stressful situations during which subjects’ levels of arousal are elevated above resting baseline levels.     

Bone “mass” and the “mechanostat”: A proposal

The observed fit of bone mass to a healthy animal's typical mechanical usage indicates some mechanism or mechanisms monitor that usage and control the three longitudinal growth, bone modeling, and BMU-based remodeling activities that directly determine bone mass. That mechanism could be named a mechanostat. Accumulated evidence suggests it includes the bone itself, plus mechanisms that transform its mechanical usage into appropriate signals, plus other mechanisms that detect those signals and then direct the above three biologic activities. In vivo studies have shown that bone strains in or above the 1500–3000 microstrain range cause bone modelling to increase cortical bone mass, while strains below the 100–300 microstrain range release BMU-based remodeling which then removes existing cortical-endosteal and trabecular bone. That arrangement provides a dual system in which bone modeling would adapt bone mass to gross overloading, while BMU-based remodeling would adapt bone mass to gross underloading, and the above strain ranges would be the approximate “setpoints” of those responses. The anatomical distribution of those mechanical usage effects are well known. If circulating agents or disease changed the effective setpoints of those responses their bone mass effects should copy the anatomical distribution of the mechanical usage effects. That seems to be the case for many agents and diseases, and several examples are discussed, including postmenopausal osteoporosis, fluoride effects, bone loss in orbit, and osteogenesis imperfecta. The mechanostat proposal is a seminal idea which fits diverse evidence but it requires critique and experimental study.