Socio-cultural similarity with host population rather than ecological similarity predicts success and failure of human migrations.

Demographers argue that human migration patterns are shaped by people moving to better environments. More recently, however, evolutionary theorists have argued that people move to similar environments to which they are culturally adapted. While previous studies analysing which factors affect migration patterns have focused almost exclusively on successful migrations, here we take advantage of a natural experiment during World War II in which an entire population was forcibly displaced but were then allowed to return home to compare successful with unsuccessful migrations. We test two competing hypotheses: (1) individuals who relocate to environments that are superior to their place of origin will be more likely to remain-The Better Environment Hypothesis or (2) individuals who relocate to environments that are similar to their place of origin will be more likely to remain-The Similar Environment Hypothesis. Using detailed records recording the social, cultural, linguistic and ecological conditions of the origin and destination locations, we find that cultural similarity (e.g. linguistic similarity and marrying within one's own minority ethnic group)-rather than ecological differences-are the best predictors of successful migrations. These results suggest that social relationships, empowered by cultural similarity with the host population, play a critical role in successful migrations and provide limited support for the similar environment hypothesis. Overall, these results demonstrate the importance of comparing unsuccessful with successful migrations in efforts understand the engines of human dispersal and suggest that the primary obstacles to human migrations and successful range expansion are sociocultural rather than ecological.

Pigmented villo-nodular synovitis and giant-cell tumor of tendon sheaths: a binational retrospective study.

AIM: Pigmented villonodular synovitis is rare. Thus, we initiated a retrospective multi-center study regarding symptoms, location, type of disease, type of surgery, number of recurrences, use of adjuvant therapies and functional outcome. RESULTS: Ten centers contributed. Data from 173 patients were sampled. The disease was seen predominantly in joints, less frequently in tendon sheaths and bursae. Patients with articular lesions suffered mainly from the diffuse type. In tendon sheaths, the relation "diffuse versus nodular" was nearly 50 % each, in bursae most often the nodular type was found. Anatomically, mostly the knee was affected. Institutions with more than 20 patients had a lower rate of recurrence than those with less than 20 cases. Regarding the knee, there were less recurrences in joints treated with open synovectomy than in those treated arthroscopically. CONCLUSIONS: Since the rate of recurrence has been rather high, the use of adjuvant treatments (radiosynoviorthesis or radiotherapy) is recommended. In our study, the rate of their application was quite low. Patients who received an adjuvant therapy after primary surgery did not show any recurrence. In 14 % of patients in whom an adjuvant therapy had been used, after at least one recurrence, further recurrences were observed. Functional results were excellent in 84 % of patients. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Prognostic multi-center study, Level III.

The role of phenotypic plasticity in responses of hunted thinhorn sheep ram horn growth to changing climate conditions.

When phenotypic change occurs over time in wildlife populations, it can be difficult to determine to what degree it is because of genetic effects or phenotypic plasticity. Here, we assess phenotypic changes over time in horn length and volume of thinhorn sheep (Ovis dalli) rams from Yukon Territory, Canada. We considered 42 years of horn growth from over 50,000 growth measurements in over 8000 individuals. We found that weather explained a large proportion of the annual fluctuation in horn growth, being particularly sensitive to spring weather. Only 2.5% of variance in horn length growth could be explained by an individual effect, and thus any genetic changes over the time period could only have had a small effect on phenotypes. Our findings allow insight into the capacity for horn morphology to react to selection pressures and demonstrate the overall importance of climate in determining growth.

Formation of an Fe(III)-tyrosinate complex during biomineralization of H-subunit ferritin.

An iron(III)-tyrosinate complex was identified in ferritin by ultraviolet-visible and resonance Raman spectroscopies. Previously, a specific amino acid side chain coordinated to iron in ferritin was not known. Ferritin protein was overexpressed in Escherichia coli from complementary DNA sequences of bullfrog red cell ferritin. The purple iron(III)-tyrosinate intermediate that formed during the first stages of iron uptake was replaced by the amber multinuclear iron(III)-oxo complexes of fully mineralized ferritin. Only the H subunit formed detectable amounts of the iron(III)-tyrosinate complex, which may explain the faster rates of iron biomineralization in H- compared to L-type ferritin.

Single-stage revision of peri-prosthetic infection following total elbow replacement.

This study reviews the predisposing features, the clinical, and laboratory findings at the time of diagnosis and the results of single-stage revision of prosthetic replacement of the elbow for infection. Deep infection occurred in six of 305 (1.9%) primary total elbow replacements. The mean follow-up after revision was 6.8 years (6 months to 16 years) and the mean age at the time of revision was 62.7 years (56 to 74). All six cases with infection had rheumatoid arthritis and had received steroid therapy. The infective organism was Staphylococcus aureus. Four of the six elbows had a developed radiolucency around one component or the other. Successful single-stage exchange arthroplasty was carried out with antibiotic-loaded cement in five of the six cases. In one, the revision prosthesis had to be removed following recurrence of the infection. The functional result was good in three elbows, fair in one, poor in one and fair in the resection arthroplasty.

The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour 10 year age eligibility and professional development review.

Concerns have long existed over the participation of adolescent athletes in professional sports. In 2004, the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour (WTA Tour) commissioned a Professional Development Advisory Panel (PDAP) to evaluate the WTA Tour's age eligibility rule (AER) and professional development programmes (PDPs) for female tennis players since their inception in 1995. More than 75% of the 628 respondents supported the principles of the AER, and 90% indicated a need for PDPs. Statistical analysis of WTA Tour players' careers found that premature retirements (players leaving the Tour at or before age 21) decreased significantly from 7% before the AER to less than 1% afterward, and median career length increased by 43%. The PDAP recommends that the WTA Tour continues a phased-in, developmentally appropriate AER, enhances the PDPs, and works with other sport governing bodies to coordinate rules and programmes at earlier ages to aid the transition of adolescents into adult sports.

One-stage exchange shoulder arthroplasty for peri-prosthetic infection.

There are few reports in the literature of the diagnosis and treatment of the infected shoulder arthroplasty. Most deal with resection arthroplasty and two-stage exchange surgery. We present our results of one-stage exchange operation as treatment for the infected shoulder arthroplasty. Our group comprised 16 patients (ten men, six women) with 16 infected arthroplasties. By the time of follow-up, two patients had died (mean 5.8 years), two could not be located and three had already undergone revision surgery. Nine patients were thus available for clinical examination and assessment. The infections were largely caused by staphylococci, Propionibacterium species and streptococci. Two were early infections (within three months of surgery) and 14 were late infections. The mean follow-up was 5.8 years (13 months to 13.25 years) when the mean Constant-Murley score was 33.6 points and the mean University College of Los Angeles score 18.3 points. Further revision was performed in three patients. One sustained a peri-prosthetic humeral fracture, another developed an acromial pseudarthrosis after transacromial surgery and the third suffered recurrent dislocations. No patient had a recurrence of infection. A one-stage exchange procedure using antibiotic-loaded bone cement eradicated infection in all our patients and we suggest that such a procedure is at least as successful as either a resection arthroplasty or a two-stage exchange in the management of the infected shoulder arthroplasty.

Hemodynamic effects of ketamine, hypoxia and hyperoxia in children with surgically treated congenital heart disease residing greater than or equal to 1,200 meters above sea level.

Little data are available on the hemodynamic effects of premedications and anesthetic agents on infants and children. Ketamine is the most frequently used anesthetic agent for cardiac catheterization procedures in pediatric patients with congenital heart disease. Previous reports both suggest and deny ketamine's pulmonary vasoreactive effects. Since the advent of sophisticated noninvasive equipment, one of the few indications for cardiac catheterization is to obtain accurate pressure data. If ketamine alters pulmonary vascular resistance, it would negate the primary reason for the procedure. Because the patient population studied herein resides greater than or equal to 1,200 meters above sea level, concerns about pharmacologic effects on pulmonary vascular resistance are enhanced. Simultaneous pulmonary artery and aortic pressures, thermodilution cardiac outputs, and blood gases were measured in room air (16% oxygen) and with ketamine infusion in 14 patients at cardiac catheterization. Reaction to hypoxia identified 3 groups: normal, intermediate and hyperresponders. The normal responders had normal resistance ratios (0.11) in room air and had little resistance ratio response to hypoxia (+0.02), hyperoxia (-0.03) or ketamine (+0.01). The intermediate responders had a slightly higher but normal resistance ratio (0.20) in room air, and a moderate reaction to hypoxia (+0.13), hyperoxia (-0.08) and ketamine (+0.11). The hyperresponders had an elevated resistance ratio (0.42) in room air and a striking reaction to hypoxia (+0.65), hyperoxia (-0.17) and ketamine (+0.49). Hypoxia and ketamine have a greater effect on resistance ratio than hypoxia alone in patients with reactive pulmonary vascular beds. Ketamine should not be used in children undergoing procedures to establish operability based on pulmonary vascular resistance or pulmonary vascular reactivity.

Aortic root dilatation and mitral valve prolapse in the fragile X syndrome.

Forty patients with fragile X [fra(X)] or Martin-Bell syndrome, confirmed by chromosome analysis, underwent full cardiac evaluation including physical examination, chest film, electrocardiography (ECG), and M-mode and 2-dimensional echocardiography. Thirty-four males and six females were studied. Although all patients were asymptomatic, seven males were found to have mild aortic root dilatation. All seven also had evidence of mitral valve prolapse. Twenty-two (55%) of the study patients had mitral valve prolapse with either a click or murmur heard on physical examination and confirmation by M-mode echocardiography. The frequency of mitral valve prolapse was the same in males and females, but 80% of males older than 18 years had mitral valve prolapse. These findings support the hypothesis of a connective tissue dysplasia in the fra(X) syndrome.

Glutaric aciduria type II: review of the phenotype and report of an unusual glomerulopathy.

A male infant with glutaric aciduria II secondary to electron transfer flavoprotein: ubiquinone oxidoreductase deficiency is compared to previously reported cases of glutaric aciduria II. A common pattern of anomalies in patients with malformations (8/16) includes macrocephaly, large anterior fontanelle, high forehead, flat nasal bridge, telecanthus, and malformed ears. Abnormalities such as hypotonia, cerebral gliosis, heterotopias, hepatomegaly, hepatic periportal necrosis, polycystic kidneys, and genital defects in glutaric aciduria II are reminiscent of those in Zellweger syndrome, whereas elevations of glutaric, ethylmalonic, adipic, and isovaleric acids are quite distinctive. A unique ultrastructural alteration of the glomerular basement membrane was observed in the proposita. This manifestation may represent an early stage in renal cyst formation and provide a diagnostic criterion for glutaric aciduria II when enzyme studies are unavailable.

In vitro toxicity and mutagenicity of CoCrMo and Ti6Al wear particles.

Contact of wear particles with body fluids can result in widespread dissemination of extractable constituents from joint implants. The aim of this in vitro study is to clarify whether there is a mutagenic and/or carcinogenic risk from CoCrMo and Ti6Al wear particles. Particles of a representative size were produced by fretting; toxicity and mutagenicity were investigated using the salmonella/microsome test according to AMES and the V79-HGPRT Test (Chinese Hamster Fibroblasts). To obtain the greatest possible elution of all constituents the metallic wear particles were extracted with dimethylsulfoxyd and water and the resulting eluates mixed together. Neither the bacterial assay nor the mammalian cell system after repeated test series under standardised conditions produced evidence of a toxic or mutagenic effect in the concentration range under study. It is therefore not to be expected that CoCrMo or Ti6Al alloys initiate carcinogenesis in the human organism.

The making of a corporate athlete.

Management theorists have long sought to identify precisely what makes some people flourish under pressure and others fold. But they have come up with only partial answers: rich material rewards, the right culture, management by objectives. The problem with most approaches is that they deal with people only from the neck up, connecting high performance primarily with cognitive capacity. Authors Loehr and Schwartz argue that a successful approach to sustained high performance must consider the person as a whole. Executives are, in effect, "corporate athletes." If they are to perform at high levels over the long haul, they must train in the systematic, multilevel way that athletes do. Rooted in two decades of work with world-class atheletes, the integrated theory of performance management addresses the body, the emotions, the mind, and the spirit through a model the authors call the performance pyramid. At its foundation is physical well-being. Above that rest emotional health, then mental acuity, and, finally, a spiritual purpose. Each level profoundly influences the others, and all must be addressed together to avoid compromising performance. Rigorous exercise, for instance, can produce a sense of emotional well-being, clearing the way for peak mental performance. Rituals that promote oscillation--the rhythmic expenditure and recovery of energy-link the levels of the pyramid and lead to the ideal performance state. The authors offer case studies of executives who have used the model to increase professional performance and improve the quality of their lives. In a corporate environment that is changing at warp speed, performing consistently at high levels is more necessary than ever. Companies can't afford to address employees' cognitive capacities while ignoring their physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being.

[Indications for shoulder prosthetics in degenerative and inflammatory diseases]. / Indikationen der Schulterprothetik bei degenerativen und entzündlichen Krankheiten.

Shoulder arthroplasty has since it's more widespread introduction in the early seventies found a general acceptance as an excellent tool for treating late stage arthritis of the shoulder joint. The indications will vary from primary osteoarthritic disease to inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, or psoriatric arthritis. It is also used as a primary tool in multifragmented shoulder fractures, which can not be restored anatomically, or are felt at risk for avascular necrosis. The surgeon setting out for this procedure has to decide whether a total arthroplasty is required in cases with glenoid destruction, or at risk of developing secondary degenerative changes in the glenoid early on. A hemiarthroplasty will only replace the humeral side of the joint, but while well accepted in the fracture patient, the arthritic patients tend to fare better with a total joint replacement for pain relief.

Sensorimotor reconditioning during and after spaceflight.

Exposure to microgravity drives adaptive changes in healthy individuals reconditioned for abnormal gravity states. These changes are maladaptive for return to earth's gravity. The intersubject variability of sensorimotor decrements is striking, although poorly understood. Multisensory integration, which is important for resolving sensory ambiguity on earth, is a critical mechanism for sensorimotor adaptation during and following space flight. The removal of gravitational loading also has profound effects that both negatively impact sensorimotor function and reduce capacity to overcome sensorimotor deficits. Countermeasure strategies include preflight training to facilitate transition to microgravity, pharmaceuticals and restriction of some activities early on orbit, and inflight exercise to minimize deconditioning during longer duration missions. Active motion is important to promote reconditioning upon return to earth's gravity. A supervised reconditioning program utilizes exercises that challenge multisensory integration with an increasing level of difficulty customized to the individual's state of recovery. This program also serves to increase crew self-awareness of fall risk. New resistive and aerobic exercise capabilities onboard the International Space Station contribute to improved postflight mobility. Lessons learned from inflight and postflight reconditioning programs have implications for future exploration crews that will operate more autonomously, as well as rehabilitation in clinical populations on earth.