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BACKGROUND:We aimed to explore clinicians' communication, including the discussion of diagnosis, cause, prognosis and care planning, in routine post-diagnostic testing consultations with patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). METHODS:Thematic content analysis was used to analyze audiotaped consultations in which 10 clinicians (eight neurologists and two geriatricians) from 7 memory clinics, disclosed diagnostic information to 13 MCI patients and their care partners. We assessed clinician-patient communication regarding diagnostic label, cause, prognosis and care planning to identify core findings. RESULTS:Core findings were: clinicians 1) differed in how they informed about the MCI label; 2) tentatively addressed cause of symptoms; 3) (implicitly) steered against further biomarker testing; 4) rarely informed about the patient's risk of developing dementia; 5) often informed about the expected course of symptoms emphasizing potential symptom stabilization and/or improvement, and; 6) did not engage in a conversation on long-term (care) planning. DISCUSSION:Clinicians' information provision about the underlying cause, prognosis and implications for long-term (care) planning in MCI could be more specific. Since most patients and care partners have a strong need to understand the patient's symptoms, and for information on the prognosis and implications for the future, clinicians' current approach may not match with those needs.

IntroductionGolden retrievers are over-represented in cases of taurine-deficient dilated cardiomyopathy and recently a surge in cases has prompted further investigation.ObjectiveTo describe the clinical, dietary, and echocardiographic features in golden retrievers diagnosed with taurine deficiency and dilated cardiomyopathy, and to determine specific dietary associations. A second aim was to determine the whole blood taurine concentrations in a representative sample of healthy golden retrievers.AnimalsTwenty-four client-owned golden retrievers with documented taurine deficiency and dilated cardiomyopathy and 52 healthy client-owned golden retrievers.MethodsIn this multicenter prospective observational study, baseline and follow-up echocardiographic data, complete diet and medical histories, and whole blood, plasma, or serum taurine concentrations were obtained. Baseline and follow-up echocardiographic data were compared. Associations were evaluated between specific diets and taurine deficiency or congestive heart failure. The prevalence of low whole blood taurine concentrations in the healthy golden retrievers was calculated.ResultsTwenty-three of 24 dogs diagnosed with taurine deficiency and dilated cardiomyopathy were fed diets that were either grain-free, legume-rich, or a combination of these factors. None of these diets were feeding trial tested using Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) procedures. Twenty-three of 24 dogs had significant improvement in their echocardiographic parameters and normalization of taurine concentrations following diet change and taurine supplementation. Nine of 11 dogs diagnosed with congestive heart failure (CHF) had resolution of their congestion at follow-up with five no longer requiring diuretic therapy and four tolerating diuretic dose reduction by >50%.ConclusionsCertain diets and diet characteristics were associated with the development of taurine deficiency. Taurine deficiency and dilated cardiomyopathy in golden retrievers is likely multifactorial, including a combination of dietary, metabolic, and genetic factors.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0209112.].

Fear is an important emotional reaction that guides decision making in situations of ambiguity or uncertainty. Both recognition of facial expressions of fear and decision making ability can be impaired after traumatic brain injury (TBI), in particular when the frontal lobe is damaged. So far, it has not been investigated how recognition of fear influences risk behavior in healthy subjects and TBI patients. The ability to recognize fear is thought to be related to the ability to experience fear and to use it as a warning signal to guide decision making. We hypothesized that a better ability to recognize fear would be related to a better regulation of risk behavior, with healthy controls outperforming TBI patients. To investigate this, 59 healthy subjects and 49 TBI patients were assessed with a test for emotion recognition (Facial Expression of Emotion: Stimuli and Tests) and a gambling task (Iowa Gambling Task (IGT)). The results showed that, regardless of post traumatic amnesia duration or the presence of frontal lesions, patients were more impaired than healthy controls on both fear recognition and decision making. In both groups, a significant relationship was found between better fear recognition, the development of an advantageous strategy across the IGT and less risk behavior in the last blocks of the IGT. Educational level moderated this relationship in the final block of the IGT. This study has important clinical implications, indicating that impaired decision making and risk behavior after TBI can be preceded by deficits in the processing of fear.

Orthotopic endometrial cancer models provide a unique tool for studies of tumour growth and metastatic spread. Novel preclinical imaging methods also have the potential to quantify functional tumour characteristics in vivo, with potential relevance for monitoring response to therapy.After orthotopic injection with luc-expressing endometrial cancer cells, eleven mice developed disease detected by weekly bioluminescence imaging (BLI). In parallel the same mice underwent positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) employing 18F-fluorodeoxyglocose (18F-FDG) or 18F- fluorothymidine (18F-FLT) and contrast reagent, respectively. The mice were sacrificed when moribund, and post-mortem examination included macroscopic and microscopic examination for validation of growth of primary uterine tumours and metastases. PET-CT was also performed on a patient derived model (PDX) generated from a patient with grade 3 endometrioid endometrial cancer.Increased BLI signal during tumour growth was accompanied by increasing metabolic tumour volume (MTV) and increasing MTV x mean standard uptake value of the tumour (SUVmean) in 18F-FDG and 18F-FLT PET-CT, and MRI conspicuously depicted the uterine tumour. At necropsy 82% (9/11) of the mice developed metastases detected by the applied imaging methods. 18F-FDG PET proved to be a good imaging method for detection of patient derived tumour tissue.We demonstrate that all imaging modalities enable monitoring of tumour growth and metastatic spread in an orthotopic mouse model of endometrial carcinoma. Both PET tracers, 18F-FDG and 18F-FLT, appear to be equally feasible for detecting tumour development and represent, together with MRI, promising imaging tools for monitoring of patient-derived xenograft (PDX) cancer models.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of disability, specifically among younger adults. Behavioral changes are common after moderate to severe TBI and have adverse consequences for social and vocational functioning. It is hypothesized that deficits in social cognition, including facial affect recognition, might underlie these behavioral changes. Measurement of behavioral deficits is complicated, because the rating scales used rely on subjective judgement, often lack specificity and many patients provide unrealistically positive reports of their functioning due to impaired self-awareness. Accordingly, it is important to find performance based tests that allow objective and early identification of these problems. In the present study 51 moderate to severe TBI patients in the sub-acute and chronic stage were assessed with a test for emotion recognition (FEEST) and a questionnaire for behavioral problems (DEX) with a self and proxy rated version. Patients performed worse on the total score and on the negative emotion subscores of the FEEST than a matched group of 31 healthy controls. Patients also exhibited significantly more behavioral problems on both the DEX self and proxy rated version, but proxy ratings revealed more severe problems. No significant correlation was found between FEEST scores and DEX self ratings. However, impaired emotion recognition in the patients, and in particular of Sadness and Anger, was significantly correlated with behavioral problems as rated by proxies and with impaired self-awareness. This is the first study to find these associations, strengthening the proposed recognition of social signals as a condition for adequate social functioning. Hence, deficits in emotion recognition can be conceived as markers for behavioral problems and lack of insight in TBI patients. This finding is also of clinical importance since, unlike behavioral problems, emotion recognition can be objectively measured early after injury, allowing for early detection and treatment of these problems.

Potato virus Y (PVY) is an important plant pathogen, whose host range includes economically important crops such as potato, tobacco, tomato, and pepper. PVY presents three main strains (PVY(O), PVY(N) and PVY(C)) and several recombinant forms. PVY has a worldwide distribution, yet the mechanisms that promote and maintain its population structure and genetic diversity are still unclear. In this study, we used a pool of 77 complete PVY genomes from isolates collected worldwide. After removing the effect of recombination in our data set, we used bayesian techniques to study the influence of geography and host species in both PVY population structure and dynamics. We have also performed selection and covariation analyses to identify evolutionarily relevant amino acid residues. Our results show that both geographic and host-driven adaptations explain PVY diversification. Furthermore, purifying selection is the main force driving PVY evolution, although some indications of positive selection accounted for the diversification of the different strains. Interestingly, the analysis of P3N-PIPO, a recently described gene in potyviruses, seems to show a variable length among the isolates analyzed, and this variability is explained, in part, by host-driven adaptation.

The Angora goat populations in Argentina (AR), France (FR) and South Africa (SA) have been kept geographically and genetically distinct. Due to country-specific selection and breeding strategies, there is a need to characterize the populations on a genetic level. In this study we analysed genetic variability of Angora goats from three distinct geographical regions using the standardized 50k Goat SNP Chip. A total of 104 goats (AR: 30; FR: 26; SA: 48) were genotyped. Heterozygosity values as well as inbreeding coefficients across all autosomes per population were calculated. Diversity, as measured by expected heterozygosity (HE) ranged from 0.371 in the SA population to 0.397 in the AR population. The SA goats were the only population with a positive average inbreeding coefficient value of 0.009. After merging the three datasets, standard QC and LD-pruning, 15 105 SNPs remained for further analyses. Principal component and clustering analyses were used to visualize individual relationships within and between populations. All SA Angora goats were separated from the others and formed a well-defined, unique cluster, while outliers were identified in the FR and AR breeds. Apparent admixture between the AR and FR populations was observed, while both these populations showed signs of having some common ancestry with the SA goats. LD averaged over adjacent loci within the three populations per chromosome were calculated. The highest LD values estimated across populations were observed in the shorter intervals across populations. The Ne for the Angora breed was estimated to be 149 animals ten generations ago indicating a declining trend. Results confirmed that geographic isolation and different selection strategies caused genetic distinctiveness between the populations.