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Abstract Background Phelan-McDermid syndrome (PMS) is a genetic neurodevelopmental disorder caused by SHANK3 haploinsufficiency and is associated with an increased risk for seizures. Previous literature indicates that around one third of individuals with PMS also have epilepsy or seizures, with a wide range of types and ages of onset. Investigating the impact of seizures on intellectual and adaptive functioning for PMS is a primary concern for caregivers and is important to understanding the natural history of this syndrome. Methods We report on results from 98 individuals enrolled in a prospective, longitudinal study. We detailed seizure frequency, type, and age of onset, and we analyzed seizure occurrence with best estimate IQ, adaptive functioning, clinical features, and genotype. We conducted multiple linear regression analyses to assess the relationship between the presence of seizures and the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale, Second Edition (VABS-II) Adaptive Behavior Composite score and the best estimate full-scale IQ. We also performed Chi-square tests to explore associations between seizure prevalence and genetic groupings. Finally, we performed Chi-square tests and t-tests to explore the relationship between seizures and demographic features, features that manifest in infancy, and medical features. Results Seizures were present in 41% of the cohort, and age of onset was widely variable. The presence of seizures was associated with significantly lower adaptive and intellectual functioning. Genotype–phenotype analyses were discrepant, with no differences in seizure prevalence across genetic classes, but with more genes included in deletions of participants with 22q13 deletions and seizures compared to those with 22q13 deletions and no seizures. No clinical associations were found between the presence of seizures and sex, history of pre- or neonatal complications, early infancy, or medical features. In this cohort, generalized seizures were associated with developmental regression, which is a top concern for PMS caregivers. Conclusions These results begin to eludicate correlates of seizures in individuals with PMS and highlight the importance of early seizure management. Importantly, presence of seizures was associated with adaptive and cognitive functioning. A larger cohort might be able to identify additional associations with medical features. Genetic findings suggest an increased capability to realize genotype–phenotype relationships when deletion size is taken into account.

Abstract Objective Infection with Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis virus (TMEV) in C57Bl/6J mice results in handling‐induced seizures and is useful for evaluating compounds effective against infection‐induced seizures. However, to date only a few compounds have been evaluated in this model, and a comprehensive study of antiseizure medications (ASMs) has not yet been performed. Furthermore, as the TMEV infection produces marked neuroinflammation, an evaluation of prototype anti‐inflammatory compounds is needed as well. Methods Male C57Bl/6J mice were inoculated with TMEV (day 0) followed by daily administrations of test compounds (day 3‐7) and subsequent handling sessions (day 3‐7). Doses of ASMs, comprising several mechanistic classes, were selected based on previously published data demonstrating the effect of these compounds in reducing seizures in the 6 Hz model of pharmacoresistant seizures. Doses of anti‐inflammatory compounds, comprising several mechanistic classes, were selected based on published evidence of reduction of inflammation or inflammation‐related endpoints. Results Several prototype ASMs reduced acute seizures following TMEV infection: lacosamide, phenytoin, ezogabine, phenobarbital, tiagabine, gabapentin, levetiracetam, topiramate, and sodium valproate. Of these, phenobarbital and sodium valproate had the greatest effect (>95% seizure burden reduction). Prototype anti‐inflammatory drugs celecoxib, dexamethasone, and prednisone also moderately reduced seizure burden. Significance The TMEV model is utilized by the Epilepsy Therapy Screening Program (ETSP) as a tool for evaluation of novel compounds. Compounds reducing seizures in the TMEV comprise distinct mechanistic classes, some with mechanisms of action that extend beyond traditional ASMs.

Recent work has suggested that the phytoremediation potential of S. alterniflora may be linked to a selection by the plant for oil-degrading microbial communities in the soil, in combination with enhanced delivery of oxygen and plant enzymes to the soil. In salt marshes, where the soil is saline and hypoxic, this relationship may be enhanced as plants in extreme environments have been found to be especially dependent on their microbiome for resilience to stress and to respond to toxins in the soil. Optimizing methods for restoration of oiled salt marshes would be especially meaningful in the Gulf of Mexico, where there is a persistently high threat of petroleum contamination. One favorable strategy for restoration of oiled sites might include planting S. alterniflora with a microbiome that has been pre-selected for an oiled environment. We examined this strategy with a two-year greenhouse experiment and found that planting S. alterniflora in an oiled environment enhances decomposition of oil residues without a clear negative impact on plant growth. Manipulation of the S. alterniflora microbiome through soil inoculation and through exposure to oil residues, elicited a detectable response of soil prokaryote communities to the presence of oil, while only demonstrating an analogous response in fungal communities in the plant roots and leaves. Yet, manipulation of the plant microbiome did not change plant morphology or relative decomposition of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the soil. Therefore, despite evident relationships between the plant, microbes, and oil, manipulation of the microbiome may not be a worthwhile addition to S. alterniflora phytoremediation strategies. Nevertheless, our work adds support for replanting S. alterniflora in oiled salt marshes as an effective strategy for reducing oil residues in salt marshes, in addition to the re-vegetation and erosion reduction benefits demonstrated by others.

Abstract Objective The lamotrigine‐resistant amygdala kindling model uses repeated administration of a low dose of lamotrigine during the kindling process to produce resistance to lamotrigine, which also extends to some other antiseizure drugs (ASDs). This model of pharmacoresistant epilepsy has been incorporated into the testing scheme utilized by the Epilepsy Therapy Screening Program (ETSP). Although some ASDs have been evaluated in this model, a comprehensive evaluation of ASD prototypes has not been reported. Methods Following depth electrode implantation and recovery, rats were exposed to lamotrigine (5 mg/kg, i.p.) prior to each stimulation during the kindling development process (~3 weeks). A test dose of lamotrigine was used to confirm that fully kindled rats were lamotrigine‐resistant. Efficacy (unambiguous protection against electrically elicited convulsive seizures) was defined as a Racine score

Parikka, Tuija. Globalization, Gender, and Media: Formations of the Sexual and Violence in Understanding Globalization. New York, NY: Lexington Books: 2015. Pp. 152. ISBN 9780739170373 (cloth) $92.00; 9781498510622 (paper) $41.99; [...]

Cudworth, Erika, Peter Senker, and Kathy Walker (Eds). Technology, Society, and Inequality: New Horizons and Contested Futures. New York: Peter Lang Publishing, 2013. Pp. 215. ISBN 978-1-4331 1971-2 (cloth) $144.95; [...]