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Multiple sodium channel isoforms mediate the pathological effects of Pacific ciguatoxin-1
No full textThis work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to reproduce the material. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Human intoxication with the seafood poison ciguatoxin, a dinoflagellate polyether that activates voltage-gated sodium channels (NaV), causes ciguatera, a disease characterised by gastrointestinal and neurological disturbances. We assessed the activity of the most potent congener, Pacific ciguatoxin-1 (P-CTX-1), on NaV1.1–1.9 using imaging and electrophysiological approaches. Although P-CTX-1 is essentially a non-selective NaV toxin and shifted the voltage-dependence of activation to more hyperpolarising potentials at all NaV subtypes, an increase in the inactivation time constant was observed only at NaV1.8, while the slope factor of the conductance-voltage curves was significantly increased for NaV1.7 and peak current was significantly increased for NaV1.6. Accordingly, P-CTX-1-induced visceral and cutaneous pain behaviours were significantly decreased after pharmacological inhibition of NaV1.8 and the tetrodotoxin-sensitive isoforms NaV1.7 and NaV1.6, respectively. The contribution of these isoforms to excitability of peripheral C- and A-fibre sensory neurons, confirmed using murine skin and visceral single-fibre recordings, reflects the expression pattern of NaV isoforms in peripheral sensory neurons and their contribution to membrane depolarisation, action potential initiation and propagation
Anthropogenic shift of planktonic food web structure in a coastal lagoon by freshwater flow regulation
No full textThis work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to reproduce the material. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Anthropogenic modification of aquatic systems has diverse impacts on food web interactions and ecosystem states. To reverse the adverse effects of modified freshwater flow, adequate management of discharge is required, especially due to higher water requirements and abstractions for human use. Here, we look at the effects of anthropogenically controlled freshwater flow regimes on the planktonic food web of a Ramsar listed coastal lagoon that is under recovery from degradation. Our results show shifts in water quality and plankton community interactions associated to changes in water flow. These shifts in food web interactions represent modifications in habitat complexity and water quality. At high flow, phytoplankton-zooplankton interactions dominate the food web. Conversely, at low flow, bacteria, viruses and nano/picoplankton interactions are more dominant, with a substantial switch of the food web towards heterotrophy. This switch can be associated with excess organic matter loading, decomposition of dead organisms, and synergistic and antagonistic interactions. We suggest that a lower variability in flow amplitude could be beneficial for the long-term sustaining of water quality and food web interactions, while improving the ecosystem health of systems facing similar stresses as the Coorong
On the classification of seawater intrusion
Get PDFThe author accepted manuscript (post print) is made available following a 24 month embargo from date of publication (9 December 2016) in accordance with the publisher copyright policy
Review of The Offhand Angel: New and Selected Poems by Jan Owen and Selected Poems from Les Fleurs du Mal by Charles Baudelaire, translated by Jan Owen.
No full textReview of The Offhand Angel: New and Selected Poems by Jan Owen and Selected Poems from Les Fleurs du Mal by Charles Baudelaire, translated by Jan Owen
Paternal obesity modifies the effect of an antenatal lifestyle intervention in women who are overweight or obese on newborn anthropometry
Get PDFOpen Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.The contribution of paternal obesity to pregnancy outcomes has been little described. Our aims were to determine whether the effect of an antenatal maternal dietary and lifestyle intervention among women who are overweight or obese on newborn adiposity, was modified by paternal obesity. We conducted a secondary analysis of a multicenter randomised trial. Pregnant women with BMI ≥25 kg/m2 received either Lifestyle Advice or Standard Care. Paternal anthropometric measures included height, weight, BMI; waist, hip, calf and mid-upper arm circumferences; biceps and calf skinfold thickness measurements (SFTM); and percentage body fat. Newborn anthropometric outcomes included length; weight; head, arm, abdominal, and chest circumferences; biceps, triceps, subscapular, suprailiac, thigh, and lateral abdominal wall SFTM; and percentage body fat. The effect of an antenatal maternal dietary and lifestyle intervention among women who were overweight or obese on neonatal anthropometric measures, was significantly modified by paternal BMI ≥35.0 kg/m2, with a significantly smaller infant triceps, suprailiac, and thigh SFTM, and percent fat mass, compared with that observed in offspring of lean fathers. Further research is required to determine whether our observed associations are causal, and whether paternal weight loss prior to conception is a potential strategy to reduce the intergenerational effects of obesity
Inbred Mouse Populations Exhibit Intergenerational Changes in Intestinal Microbiota Composition and Function Following Introduction to a Facility
Get PDFThis is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.Inbred mice are used to investigate many aspects of human physiology, including susceptibility to disease and response to therapies. Despite increasing evidence that the composition and function of the murine intestinal microbiota can substantially influence a broad range of experimental outcomes, relatively little is known about microbiome dynamics within experimental mouse populations. We investigated changes in the intestinal microbiome between C57BL/6J mice spanning six generations (assessed at generations 1, 2, 3, and 6), following their introduction to a stringently controlled facility. Fecal microbiota composition and function were assessed by 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing and liquid chromatography mass spectrometry, respectively. Significant divergence of the intestinal microbiota between founder and second generation mice, as well as continuing inter-generational variance, was observed. Bacterial taxa whose relative abundance changed significantly through time included Akkermansia, Turicibacter, and Bifidobacterium (p < 0.05), all of which are recognized as having the potential to substantially influence host physiology. Shifts in microbiota composition were mirrored by corresponding differences in the fecal metabolome (r = 0.57, p = 0.0001), with notable differences in levels of tryptophan pathway metabolites and amino acids, including glutamine, glutamate and aspartate. We related the magnitude of changes in the intestinal microbiota and metabolome characteristics during acclimation to those observed between populations housed in separate facilities, which differed in regards to husbandry, barrier conditions and dietary intake. The microbiome variance reported here has implications for experimental reproducibility, and as a consequence, experimental design and the interpretation of research outcomes across wide range of contexts
Effectiveness of problem gambling interventions in a service setting: a protocol for a pragmatic randomised controlled clinical trial
Get PDFThis is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work noncommercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/Introduction The primary purpose of this study is to evaluate the relative effectiveness of 2 of the best developed and most promising forms of therapy for problem gambling, namely face-to-face motivational interviewing (MI) combined with a self-instruction booklet (W) and follow-up telephone booster sessions (B; MI+W+B) and face-to-face cognitive–behavioural therapy (CBT).
Methods and analysis This project is a single-blind pragmatic randomised clinical trial of 2 interventions, with and without the addition of relapse-prevention text messages. Trial assessments take place pretreatment, at 3 and 12 months. A total of 300 participants will be recruited through a community treatment agency that provides services across New Zealand and randomised to up to 10 face-to-face sessions of CBT or 1 face-to-face session of MI+W+up to 5 B. Participants will also be randomised to 9 months of postcare text messaging. Eligibility criteria include a self-perception of having a current gambling problem and a willingness to participate in all components of the study (eg, read workbook). The statistical analysis will use an intent-to-treat approach. Primary outcome measures are days spent gambling and amount of money spent per day gambling in the prior month. Secondary outcome measures include problem gambling severity, gambling urges, gambling cognitions, mood, alcohol, drug use, tobacco, psychological distress, quality of life, health status and direct and indirect costs associated with treatment.
Ethics and dissemination The research methods to be used in this study have been approved by the Ministry of Health, Health and Disability Ethics Committees (HDEC) 15/CEN/99. The investigators will provide annual reports to the HDEC and report any adverse events to this committee. Amendments will also be submitted to this committee. The results of this trial will be submitted for publication in peer-reviewed journals and as a report to the funding body. Additionally, the results will be presented at national and international conferences
‘Waiting for’ and ‘waiting in’ public and private hospitals: a qualitative study of patient trust in South Australia
Get PDFThis article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.Background
Waiting times for hospital appointments, treatment and/or surgery have become a major political and health service problem, leading to national maximum waiting times and policies to reduce waiting times. Quantitative studies have documented waiting times for various types of surgery and longer waiting times in public vs private hospitals. However, very little qualitative research has explored patient experiences of waiting, how this compares between public and private hospitals, and the implications for trust in hospitals and healthcare professionals. The aim of this paper is to provide a deep understanding of the impact of waiting times on patient trust in public and private hospitals.
Methods
A qualitative study in South Australia, including 36 in-depth interviews (18 from public and 18 from private hospitals). Data collection occurred in 2012–13, and data were analysed using pre-coding, followed by conceptual and theoretical categorisation.
Results
Participants differentiated between experiences of ‘waiting for’ (e.g. for specialist appointments and surgery) and ‘waiting in’ (e.g. in emergency departments and outpatient clinics) public and private hospitals. Whilst ‘waiting for’ public hospitals was longer than private hospitals, this was often justified and accepted by public patients (e.g. due to reduced government funding), therefore it did not lead to distrust of public hospitals. Private patients had shorter ‘waiting for’ hospital services, increasing their trust in private hospitals and distrust of public hospitals. Public patients also recounted many experiences of longer ‘waiting in’ public hospitals, leading to frustration and anxiety, although they rarely blamed or distrusted the doctors or nurses, instead blaming an underfunded system and over-worked staff. Doctors and nurses were seen to be doing their best, and therefore trustworthy.
Conclusion
Although public patients experienced longer ‘waiting for’ and ‘waiting in’ public hospitals, it did not lead to widespread distrust in public hospitals or healthcare professionals. Private patients recounted largely positive stories of reduced ‘waiting for’ and ‘waiting in’ private hospitals, and generally distrusted public hospitals. The continuing trust by public patients in the face of negative experiences may be understood as a form of exchange trust norm, in which institutional trust is based on base-level expectations of consistency and minimum standards of care and safety. The institutional trust by private patients may be understood as a form of communal trust norm, whereby trust is based on the additional and higher-level expectations of flexibility, reduced waiting and more time with healthcare professionals
‘I Think, You Think’: Understanding the Importance of Self-Reflection to the Taking of Another Person's Perspective
Get PDFThis article has been published in a revised form in Journal of Relationships Research http://doi.org/10.1017/jrr.2017.8. This version is free to view and download for private research and study only. Not for re-distribution, re-sale or use in derivative works. © The authors holder.
This author accepted manuscript is made available following 6 month embargo from date of publication (June 2017) in accordance with the publisher’s copyright policyThis article reviews current knowledge about how the tendency to reflect on personal experience is related to the tendency to take another's perspective. While it is well established that self-reflection leads to a greater understanding of one's own emotions, cognitions, and behaviours, the extent to which it is associated with understanding others is less well understood, despite the implications of this for the development of more effective interventions to improve empathy. The types of self-reflection that are used in clinical and psychotherapeutic interventions are used to illustrate the possibilities here, and ways in which clinicians may increase their own self-reflection are also considered
The Potential Benefits of Applying Recent Advances in Esophageal Motility Testing in Patients with Esophageal Atresia
Get PDFThis is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.Infants and children with esophageal atresia commonly present with swallowing dysfunction or dysphagia. Dysphagia can lead to a range of significant consequences such as aspiration pneumonia, malnutrition, dehydration, and food impaction. To improve oral intake, the clinical diagnosis of dysphagia in patients with esophageal atresia should focus on both the pharynx and the esophagus. To characterize the complex interactions of bolus flow and motor function between mouth, pharynx, and esophagus, a detailed understanding of normal and abnormal deglutition is required through the use of adequate and objective assessment techniques. As clinical symptoms do not correlate well with conventional assessment methods of motor function such as radiology or manometry but do correlate with bolus flow, the current state-of-the-art diagnosis involves high-resolution manometry combined with impedance measurements to characterize the interplay between esophageal motor function and bolus clearance. Using a novel pressure flow analysis (PFA) method as an integrated analysis method of manometric and impedance measurements, differentiation of patients with impaired esophago-gastric junction relaxation from patients with bolus outflow disorders is clinically relevant. In this, pressure flow matrix categorizing the quantitative PFA measures may be used to make rational therapeutic decisions in patients with esophageal atresia. Through more advanced diagnostics, improved understanding of pathophysiology may improve our patient care by directly targeting the failed biomechanics of both the pharynx and the esophagus