Hologenome analysis of two marine sponges with different microbiomes.

BACKGROUND: Sponges (Porifera) harbor distinct microbial consortia within their mesohyl interior. We herein analysed the hologenomes of Stylissa carteri and Xestospongia testudinaria, which notably differ in their microbiome content. RESULTS: Our analysis revealed that S. carteri has an expanded repertoire of immunological domains, specifically Scavenger Receptor Cysteine-Rich (SRCR)-like domains, compared to X. testudinaria. On the microbial side, metatranscriptome analyses revealed an overrepresentation of potential symbiosis-related domains in X. testudinaria. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings provide genomic insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying host-symbiont coevolution and may serve as a roadmap for future hologenome analyses.

Management of a Left Internal Thoracic Artery Graft Injury during Left Thoracotomy for Thoracic Surgery.

There have been some recent reports on the surgical treatment of lung cancer in patients following previous coronary artery bypass graft surgery. Use of internal thoracic artery graft is a gold standard in cardiac surgery with superior long-term patency. Left internal thoracic artery graft is usually patent during left lung resection in patients who present to the surgeon with an operable lung cancer. We have presented our institutional experience with left-sided thoracic surgery in patients who have had previous coronary artery surgery with a patent internal thoracic artery graft.

A critical appraisal of instruments to measure outcomes of interprofessional education.

CONTEXT: Interprofessional education (IPE) is believed to prepare health professional graduates for successful collaborative practice. A range of instruments have been developed to measure the outcomes of IPE. An understanding of the psychometric properties of these instruments is important if they are to be used to measure the effectiveness of IPE. OBJECTIVES: This review set out to identify instruments available to measure outcomes of IPE and collaborative practice in pre-qualification health professional students and to critically appraise the psychometric properties of validity, responsiveness and reliability against contemporary standards for instrument design. METHODS: Instruments were selected from a pool of extant instruments and subjected to critical appraisal to determine whether they satisfied inclusion criteria. The qualitative and psychometric attributes of the included instruments were appraised using a checklist developed for this review. RESULTS: Nine instruments were critically appraised, including the widely adopted Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS) and the Interdisciplinary Education Perception Scale (IEPS). Validity evidence for instruments was predominantly based on test content and internal structure. Ceiling effects and lack of scale width contribute to the inability of some instruments to detect change in variables of interest. Limited reliability data were reported for two instruments. Scale development and scoring protocols were generally reported by instrument developers, but the inconsistent application of scoring protocols for some instruments was apparent. CONCLUSIONS: A number of instruments have been developed to measure outcomes of IPE in pre-qualification health professional students. Based on reported validity evidence and reliability data, the psychometric integrity of these instruments is limited. The theoretical test construction paradigm on which instruments have been developed may be contributing to the failure of some instruments to detect change in variables of interest following an IPE intervention. These limitations should be considered in any future research on instrument design.

Short- and Long-Term Effects of UVA on Arabidopsis Are Mediated by a Novel cGMP Phosphodiesterase.

Although UVA radiation (315-400 nm) represents 95% of the UV radiation reaching the earth's surface, surprisingly little is known about its effects on plants [1]. We show that in Arabidopsis, short-term exposure to UVA inhibits the opening of stomata, and this requires a reduction in the cytosolic level of cGMP. This process is independent of UVR8, the UVB receptor. A cGMP-activated phosphodiesterase (AtCN-PDE1) was responsible for the UVA-induced decrease in cGMP in Arabidopsis. AtCN-PDE1-like proteins form a clade within the large HD-domain/PDEase-like protein superfamily, but no eukaryotic members of this subfamily have been functionally characterized. These genes have been lost from the genomes of metazoans but are otherwise conserved as single-copy genes across the tree of life. In longer-term experiments, UVA radiation increased growth and decreased water-use efficiency. These experiments revealed that PDE1 is also a negative regulator of growth. As the PDE1 gene is ancient and not represented in animal lineages, it is likely that at least one element of cGMP signaling in plants has evolved differently to the system present in metazoans.

A 6-hydroxydopamine lesion of the mesostriatal dopamine system decreases the expression of corticotropin releasing hormone and neurotensin mRNAs in the amygdala and bed nucleus of the stria terminalis.

The mesostriatal dopamine (DA) system is known to play a vital role in extrapyramidal motor responses, and animals with a unilateral 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) lesion of this system have proved useful in studying the behavioral and neurobiological effects of DA depletion. Less is known about the role of this system in modulating emotional responses, although a number of lines of evidence suggest that dopamine influences emotional behavior. During the course of a study involving rats that had a unilateral 6-OHDA lesion, we discovered a hemispheric asymmetry in the levels of corticotropin releasing hormone (CRH) mRNA in the central nucleus of the amygdala (CEA). The present study was performed in order to determine (1) if the lesion resulted in a decrease in CRH mRNA, and/or if there was upregulation on the intact side, (2) if a similar imbalance in CRH mRNA was observed in other brain regions and (3) if levels of other neuropeptide mRNAs were affected by the lesion. Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were left unoperated or were pretreated with desipramine and then injected unilaterally with 6-OHDA into the medial forebrain bundle to lesion the ascending mesostriatal DA neurons. Animals were killed 15-31 days following surgery and brain sections processed for CRH, neurotensin and enkephalin mRNAs by in situ hybridization. Levels of CRH and neurotensin mRNAs were decreased on the lesioned side in the CEA and oval nucleus of the BST (BSTov) relative to the intact side and to unoperated controls. Levels of enkephalin mRNA in these regions were not affected by the lesion. These effects appeared specific, because the lesion did not alter CRH mRNA expression in the ventral BST, paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus or cortex or neurotensin mRNA expression in the CA1 region of the hippocampus. In contrast, and consistent with previous reports, levels of neurotensin and enkephalin mRNAs were upregulated on the lesioned side of the striatum. This study provides evidence that the mesostriatal DA system regulates CRH and neurotensin mRNA in the BSTov and CEA, suggesting that dopamine may be an important modulator of CRH and neurotensin function within these nuclei. Although the precise mechanisms are not clear, and the involvement of noradrenergic systems cannot be precluded, data are consistent with the idea that dopamine, released in response to a stressful experience for example, interacts with CRH and neurotensin in the extended amygdala to affect emotional responsiveness.

Static stance response to different types of foot orthoses.

Many different types of foot orthoses are used to treat biomechanical dysfunction of the foot. Little evidence is available to guide clinicians in the selection of foot orthoses. The aim of this project was to determine whether resistance of the foot to supination or the Foot Posture Index could predict the static stance response to different types of prefabricated foot orthoses. The Foot Posture Index score was determined and resistance to supination was measured in 18 subjects (36 feet). Changes in the frontal plane calcaneal angle and navicular height were then measured as the subjects stood on six different types of foot orthoses. All orthoses resulted in an increase in navicular height, but only three orthoses changed the calcaneal angle in the frontal plane. Resistance to supination did not predict the response to the different types of orthoses, but the Foot Posture Index score was associated with changes from using some of the orthoses.

Knowledge of aging and attitudes toward older people. A survey of Australian podiatric medical students.

Podiatric medical students in Australia were surveyed to evaluate their reasons for entering podiatric medicine, knowledge of aging, attitudes toward older people, perceptions of treatment efficacy, and desire to specialize in geriatrics. Few students plan to specialize in geriatrics upon graduation (4%), with most preferring general practice (25%) or sports medicine (21%). However, knowledge of aging was good, and students had favorable attitudes toward older people and considered treatment of older people to be effective. Few age- or gender-related effects were observed. It is concluded that students' lack of desire to specialize in geriatrics may be due not to unfavorable perceptions of older people but rather to the low profile and limited development of geriatrics as a specialty area within the podiatric medical profession.