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Multisystemic eosinophilic epitheliotropic disease (MEED) is a rare condition of equids characterized by eosinophilic infiltration of multiple organs. Clinical signs are variable depending on the affected organs. The most common clinical signs include chronic weight loss, diarrhoea and exfoliative dermatitis. Respiratory distress and raised liver enzymes are less frequently seen. The cause is unknown and the pathogenesis is poorly understood. There are less than 50 reported cases of horses with MEED. We now document the lesions in three donkeys with fluctuating or chronic loss of weight, lethargy, exfoliative dermatitis and peripheral eosinophilia. All three animals were euthanized due to poor prognosis and welfare concerns. Post-mortem examination revealed multiple white to tan, irregular masses composed of eosinophilic infiltrates, including eosinophilic granulomas in several organs, confirming the presence of MEED. To the best of our knowledge, MEED has not previously been reported in donkeys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Maternal asthma in pregnancy is associated with adverse perinatal and child health outcomes; however, mechanisms are poorly understood.Methods: The PRogramming of Intergenerational Stress Mechanisms (PRISM) prospective pregnancy cohort characterized asthma history during pregnancy via questionnaires and quantified placental DNAm using the Illumina Infinium HumanMethylation450 BeadChip. We performed epigenome-wide association analyses (n = 223) to estimate associations between maternal active or inactive asthma, as compared to never asthma, and placental differentially methylated positions (DMPs) and differentially variable positions (DVPs). Models adjusted for maternal pre-pregnancy body mass index, smoking status, parity, age and education level and child sex. P-values were FDR-adjusted.Results: One hundred and fifty-nine (71.3%) pregnant women reported no history of asthma (never asthma), 15 (6.7%) reported inactive, and 49 (22%) reported active antenatal asthma. Women predominantly self-identified as Black/Hispanic Black [88 (39.5%)] and Hispanic/non-Black [42 (18.8%)]. We identified 10 probes at FDR<0.05 and 4 probes at FDR<0.10 characterized by higher variability in maternal active asthma compared to never asthma mapping to GPX3, LHPP, PECAM1, ATAD3C, and ARHGEF4 and 2 probes characterized by lower variation mapping to CHMP4A and C5orf24. Amongst women with inactive asthma, we identified 52 probes, 41 at FDR<0.05 and an additional 11 at FDR <0.10, with higher variability compared to never asthma; BMP4, LHPP, PHYHIPL, and ZSCAN23 were associated with multiple DVPs. No associations were observed with DMPs.Discussion: We observed alterations in placental DNAm in women with antenatal asthma, as compared to women without a history of asthma. Further research is needed to understand the impact on fetal development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2006.07.013 Byline: David M. Shuker, Sarah E. Reece, Alison Lee, Aleta Graham, Alison B. Duncan, Stuart A. West Abstract: Behavioural decisions require the appropriate use of relevant information about the environment. However, individuals may have imperfect information, imposing a constraint on adaptive behaviour. We explored how information use influences the sex allocation behaviour of the parasitoid wasp Nasonia vitripennis in response to local mate competition. Optimal sex ratios under local mate competition require females to estimate the number of other females that contribute eggs to a patch. Females rapidly changed their sex allocation in response to changes in the number of females in the environment, suggesting that they are not constrained by how quickly they can respond to new information. Furthermore, females also showed some response to olfactory cues that indicated oviposition by other females, suggesting that such indirect cues may be part of their information repertoire. Both the absolute and the relative size of the patch were important for sex ratio decisions, with sex ratios declining on larger patches in a way that suggests that large patches in effect become more than one patch, with females on larger patches allocating sex increasingly independently of other females. We conclude by highlighting variation among species in whether particular cues are used for sex allocation. Author Affiliation: Institute of Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, U.K. Article History: Received 13 February 2006; Revised 9 May 2006; Accepted 12 July 2006 Article Note: (miscellaneous) MS. number: 8845R

To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.wsif.2006.04.001 Byline: Maria DiCenzo (a), Cynthia Comacchio (a), Susan Hamilton (b), Alison Lee (c), Linda Mahood (d), Leila Ryan (e) Abstract: The editorial team's introduction to this special issue on 'Feminisms and Print Culture, 1830s-1930s, in the Digital Age' outlines key objectives of the workshop which gave rise to the papers that form the basis of this collection. The workshop's discussions helped to define the priorities and directions of the larger project on which we are embarking, and through which we intend to realize our larger aims in researching early women's movements and print media. Some of these aims include bringing interdisciplinary, comparative, and transnational perspectives to bear on the history of early women's movements; foregrounding the role of print media in the articulation, dissemination, and integration of feminist ideas and campaigns, as well as the opposition to them in this period; and employing electronic media to make these materials, both historic and critical, widely available. The focus on the intersection between early women's movements and print media highlights an integral connection between research perspectives and resources of value to feminist researchers and students pursuing the many and varied subjects within these areas. The importance of electronic scholarship to large-scale collaborative work in women's studies, consequently, is a central theme of this special issue. Our aim is to reproduce the strategies of feminist discourse and communication in the 19th and early 20th centuries by using electronic technologies to explore and disseminate knowledge of historic women's movements now and for future generations. Author Affiliation: (a) Wilfrid Laurier University, Department of English and Film Studies, 75 University Ave., Waterloo, ON, Canada N2L 3C5 (b) University of Alberta, Canada (c) University of Western Ontario, Canada (d) University of Guelph, Canada (e) McMaster University, Canada

Despite the exquisite specificity and high affinity of antibody-based cancer therapies, treatment side effects can occur since the tumor-associated antigens targeted are also present on healthy cells. However, the low pH of the tumor microenvironment provides an opportunity to develop conditionally active antibodies with enhanced tumor specificity. Here, we engineered the human IgG1 Fc domain to enhance pH-selective binding to the receptor FcγRIIIa and subsequent antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC). Wedisplayed the Fc domain on the surface of mammalian cells and generated a site-directed library by altering Fc residues at the Fc-FcγRIIIa interface to support interactions with positively charged histidine residues. We then used a competitive staining and flow cytometric selection strategy to isolate Fc variants exhibiting reduced FcγRIIIa affinities at neutral pH, but physiological affinities at the tumor-typical pH 6.5. We demonstrate that antibodies composed of Fab arms binding the breast cell epithelial marker Her2 and the lead Fc variant, termed acid-Fc, exhibited an ~2-fold pH-selectivity for FcγRIIIa binding based on the ratio of equilibrium dissociation constants Kd,7.4/Kd,6.5, due to a faster dissociation rate at pH 7.4. Finally, in vitro ADCC assays with human FcγRIIIa-positive natural killer and Her2-positive target cells demonstrated similar activities for anti-Her2 antibodies bearing the wild-type or acid-Fc at pH 6.5, but nearly 20-fold reduced ADCC for acid-Fc at pH 7.4, based on EC50 ratios. This work shows the promise of mammalian cell display for Fc engineering and the feasibility of pH-selective Fc activation to provide a second dimension of selective tumor cell targeting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The impact of prenatal ambient air pollution on child asthma may be modified by maternal stress, child sex, and exposure dose and timing. Objective We prospectively examined associations between coexposure to prenatal particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of less than 2.5 microns (PM 2.5 ) and maternal stress and childhood asthma (n = 736). Methods Daily PM 2.5 exposure during pregnancy was estimated using a validated satellite-based spatiotemporally resolved prediction model. Prenatal maternal negative life events (NLEs) were dichotomized around the median (high: NLE ≥ 3; low: NLE < 3). We used Bayesian distributed lag interaction models to identify sensitive windows for prenatal PM 2.5 exposure on children's asthma by age 6 years, and determine effect modification by maternal stress and child sex. Results Bayesian distributed lag interaction models identified a critical window of exposure (19-23 weeks' gestation, cumulative odds ratio, 1.15; 95% CI, 1.03-1.26; per interquartile range [1.7 μg/m 3 ] increase in prenatal PM 2.5 level) during which children concomitantly exposed to prenatal PM 2.5 and maternal stress had increased risk of asthma. No significant association was seen in children born to women reporting low prenatal stress. When examining modifying effects of prenatal stress and fetal sex, we found that boys born to mothers with higher prenatal stress were most vulnerable (19-21 weeks' gestation; cumulative odds ratio, 1.28; 95% CI, 1.15-1.41; per interquartile range increase in PM 2.5 ). Conclusions Prenatal PM 2.5 exposure during sensitive windows is associated with increased risk of child asthma, especially in boys concurrently exposed to elevated maternal stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives To assess the efficacy, cost-effectiveness, immunogenicity, and safety related to the interchangeability between pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs) and vaccination schedules in pediatric population. Methods Systematic searches were conducted in December 2010 and April 2015 for economic evaluations in MEDLINE, EMBASE, LILACS, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials. Web sites and databases from medical societies, experts, and associations related to the topic, proceedings or congressional annals, and doctoral theses were also searched. No language or temporal restriction was applied. We included randomized controlled trials, economic evaluations, and systematic reviews evaluating antibody response, cost-effectiveness, and effectiveness of PCVs’ interchangeability. A Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology–based checklist was used to assess the risk of bias in observational studies and a Cochrane approach for experimental/quasi-experimental studies. Pairs of reviewers independently selected (through the Web-based Early Reviewer Organizer Software), assessed the quality, and extracted the data of the studies. Discrepancies were resolved by consensus. We planned to perform meta-analysis whenever appropriate. Results Forty-six of 202 studies were included. There was no direct information available on the interchangeability between PCVs. The immunogenicity and safety between the 10-valent PCV (PCV10) and the 7-valent PCV were similar when both vaccines were coadministered with other routine pediatric vaccines. PCV10 and 13-valent PCV (PCV13) were consistently more cost-effective than 7-valent PCV. Conclusions There was no direct comparative information available on the interchangeability among PCVs, but they have pretty similar immunogenicity and safety. PCV10 versus PCV13 cost-effectiveness varied according to price, indirect effects, and indirect costs. PCV10 gains more quality-adjusted life-years because of the prevention of more frequent yet less severe events such as otitis media, and PCV13 prevents less frequent but more costly events such as invasive diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present findings of a cross-sectional study that investigated the misconceptions student nurses hold, across 3 years of undergraduate education, of adults experiencing chronic nonmalignant pain. Earlier research has identified chronic pain as a leading cause of disability. The knowledge and attitudes of nurses have been found to affect patient experience and treatment. The study reported in this article addressed a gap in the existing research by exploring the misconceptions (inaccurate knowledge and inadequate attitudes) student nurses have of adults experiencing chronic nonmalignant pain. Previously identified misconceptions about patients with this type of pain were used as the basis for this study. Data were collected from a cross-sectional sample of student nurses (n = 430) using a specially designed survey. The study took place between 2001 and 2003 with students due to graduate between 2002 and 2005. The student nurses who participated in this study demonstrated that they held misconceptions about adults with chronic nonmalignant pain to a considerable degree. Students enrolled in semester six held the misconceptions to a slightly lesser degree than those enrolled in semesters one and four. The process of undergraduate education needs to equip nursing students with accurate knowledge about chronic nonmalignant pain and encourage them to develop the appropriate attitudes for working with patients experiencing it. Specific strategies must address gaps in knowledge and attitudes, with the aim of improving patient care. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background Temporal- and sex-specific effects of perinatal stress have not been examined for childhood asthma. Objectives We examined associations between prenatal and/or postnatal stress and children's asthma (n = 765) and effect modification by sex in a prospective cohort study. Methods Maternal negative life events were ascertained prenatally and postpartum. Negative life event scores were categorized as 0, 1 to 2, 3 to 4, or 5 or greater to assess exposure-response relationships. We examined effects of prenatal and postnatal stress on children's asthma by age 6 years, modeling each as independent predictors, mutually adjusting for prenatal and postnatal stress, and finally considering interactions between prenatal and postnatal stress. Effect modification by sex was examined in stratified analyses and by fitting interaction terms. Results When considering stress in each period independently, among boys, a dose-response relationship was evident for each level increase on the ordinal scale prenatally (odds ratio [OR], 1.38; 95% CI, 1.06-1.79; P value for trend = .03) and postnatally (OR, 1.53; 95% CI, 1.16-2.01; P value for trend = .001); among girls, only the postnatal trend was significant (OR, 1.60; 95% CI, 1.14-2.22; P value for trend = .005). Higher stress in both the prenatal and postnatal periods was associated with increased odds of receiving a diagnosis of asthma in girls (OR, 1.37; 95% CI, 0.98-1.91; P interaction = .07) but not boys (OR, 1.08; 95% CI, 0.82-1.42; P interaction = .61). Conclusions Although boys were more vulnerable to stress during the prenatal period, girls were more affected by postnatal stress and cumulative stress across both periods in relation to asthma. Understanding sex and temporal differences in response to early-life stress might provide unique insight into the cause and natural history of asthma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The interaction of visual/visuospatial and motor symptoms in Parkinson’s disease (PD) was investigated by means of a 31-item self-report questionnaire. The majority of 81 non-demented patients reported problems on non-motor tasks that depended on visual or visuospatial abilities. Over a third reported visual hallucinations, double vision and difficulty estimating spatial relations. Freezing of gait was associated with visual hallucinations, double vision and contrast sensitivity deficits. Visual strategies frequently were employed to overcome freezing. The results underscore the importance of investigating visual and visuospatial impairments in PD and their relation to motor symptoms, in order to help patients develop successful compensatory strategies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Cultivated seafood is a promising novel approach to global food security and sustainability, as current seafood production methods may not meet the needs of increasing world population and rising seafood consumption. Hence, cell-based seafood is an important part of modern food innovation to supplement current seafood production. Life cycle assessments (LCAs) of the commercial and environmental impact of cultivated meat highlight the importance of low-cost culture media without serum and antibiotics to commercial feasibility. LCAs comparing production of cultivated with conventional seafood are limited. This review discusses the cultivated seafood production process, with focus on cell line derivation, media formulation, and culture parameters. Present challenges facing the industry include development of serum-free media, and isolation and maintenance of different types of stem cells from seafood species. A survey of published LCAs is presented, along with their implications for technological advancements required for commercial viability. Consumer preferences and current regulatory landscape for cell culture-derived foods, crucial for the development of cultivated seafood, are also discussed. Currently, the isolation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) is more straightforward approach than other stem cell sources for cell-based fish, but isolation of stem cell niches for crustaceans and molluscs and optimization of culture conditions remain a challenge. Serum-free media development involves resource-intensive profiling of serum replacements, and determination of optimal concentrations, but may yield cost efficiencies in large-scale cultivated seafood production. Tackling these challenges is instrumental to the long-term sustainability of cultivated seafood production. • Cultivated seafood has immense potential as an alternative protein source. • Recent advances in regulatory approval may expedite cultivated seafood development. • Current LCAs comparing cultivated and conventional seafood are limited in numbers. • Optimization of progenitor cell type and culture conditions are instrumental to this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Household air pollution (HAP) is a risk factor for low birth weight and pneumonia. • Sensitive windows between prenatal HAP and these outcomes are unknown. • Mid-gestation HAP exposure was inversely associated with birth weight. • Later-gestation HAP exposure was positively associated with pneumonia risk. • These findings have implications for the timing of public health interventions. Prenatal household air pollution impairs birth weight and increases pneumonia risk however time-varying associations have not been elucidated and may have implications for the timing of public health interventions. The Ghana Randomized Air Pollution and Health Study (GRAPHS) enrolled 1,414 pregnant women from Kintampo, Ghana and measured personal carbon monoxide (CO) exposure four times over pregnancy. Birth weight was measured within 72-hours of birth. Fieldworkers performed weekly pneumonia surveillance and referred sick children to study physicians. The primary pneumonia outcome was one or more physician-diagnosed severe pneumonia episode in the first year of life. We employed reverse distributed lag models to examine time-varying associations between prenatal CO exposure and birth weight and infant pneumonia risk. Analyses included n = 1,196 mother-infant pairs. In models adjusting for child sex; maternal age, body mass index (BMI), ethnicity and parity at enrollment; household wealth index; number of antenatal visits; and evidence of placental malaria, prenatal CO exposures from 15 to 20 weeks gestation were inversely associated with birth weight. Sex-stratified models identified a similar sensitive window in males and a window at 10-weeks gestation in females. In models adjusting for child sex, maternal age, BMI and ethnicity, household wealth index, gestational age at delivery and average postnatal child CO exposure, CO exposure during 34–39 weeks gestation were positively associated with severe pneumonia risk, especially in females. Household air pollution exposures in mid- and late- gestation are associated with lower birth weight and higher pneumonia risk, respectively. These findings support the urgent need for deployment of clean fuel stove interventions beginning in early pregnancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Household air pollution exposure during pregnancy affects birth outcomes in Ghana. • Effects are strongest in pregnancies unaffected by placental malaria. • Carbon monoxide during pregnancy is associated with reduced fetal growth. • Carbon monoxide during pregnancy is also associated with shorter gestational age. • Malaria during pregnancy may obscure the effects of air pollution on fetal growth. Low birth weight and prematurity are important risk factors for death and disability, and may be affected by prenatal exposure to household air pollution (HAP). We investigate associations between maternal exposure to carbon monoxide (CO) during pregnancy and birth outcomes (birth weight, birth length, head circumference, gestational age, low birth weight, small for gestational age, and preterm birth) among 1288 live-born infants in the Ghana Randomized Air Pollution and Health Study (GRAPHS). We evaluate whether evidence of malaria during pregnancy, as determined by placental histopathology, modifies these associations. We observed effects of CO on birth weight, birth length, and gestational age that were modified by placental malarial status. Among infants from pregnancies without evidence of placental malaria, each 1 ppm increase in CO was associated with reduced birth weight (−53.4 g [95% CI: −84.8, −21.9 g]), birth length (−0.3 cm [−0.6, −0.1 cm]), gestational age (−1.0 days [−1.8, −0.2 days]), and weight-for-age Z score (−0.08 standard deviations [−0.16, −0.01 standard deviations]). These associations were not observed in pregnancies with evidence of placental malaria. Each 1 ppm increase in maternal exposure to CO was associated with elevated odds of low birth weight (LBW, OR 1.14 [0.97, 1.33]) and small for gestational age (SGA, OR 1.14 [0.98, 1.32]) among all infants. Even modest reductions in exposure to HAP among pregnant women could yield substantial public health benefits, underscoring a need for interventions to effectively reduce exposure. Adverse associations with HAP were discernible only among those without evidence of placental malaria, a key driver of impaired fetal growth in this malaria-endemic area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pneumonia, a leading cause of childhood mortality, is associated with household air pollution (HAP) exposure. Mechanisms between HAP and pneumonia are poorly understood, but studies suggest that HAP may increase the likelihood of bacterial, instead of viral, pneumonia. We assessed the relationship between HAP and infant microbial nasal carriage among 260 infants participating in the Ghana Randomized Air Pollution and Health Study (GRAPHS). Data are from GRAPHS, a cluster-randomized controlled trial of cookstove interventions (improved biomass or LPG) versus the 3-stone (baseline) cookstove. Infants were surveyed for pneumonia during the first year of life and had routine personal exposure assessments. Nasopharyngeal swabs collected from pneumonia cases (n = 130) and healthy controls (n = 130) were analyzed for presence of 22 common respiratory microbes by MassTag polymerase chain reaction. Data analyses included intention-to-treat (ITT) comparisons of microbial species presence by study arm, and exposure-response relationships. In ITT analyses, 3-stone arm participants had a higher mean number of microbial species than the LPG (LPG: 2.71, 3-stone: 3.34, p < 0.0001, n = 260). This difference was driven by increased bacterial (p < 0.0001) rather than viral species presence (non-significant). Results were pronounced in pneumonia cases and attenuated in healthy controls. Higher prevalence bacterial species were Haemophilus influenzae , Streptococcus pneumoniae , and Moraxella catarrhalis. Exposure-response relationships did not yield significant associations between measured CO and nasal microbial carriage. Our intention-to-treat findings are consistent with a link between HAP and bacterial nasal carriage. No relationships were found for viral carriage. Given the null results in exposure-response analysis, it is likely that a pollutant besides CO is driving these differences. • Cookstove intervention showed lower bacterial species presence in upper airways. • No differences found in species presence for viruses. • Exposure-response analyses for carbon monoxide yield null results. • Differences likely due to other constituents of air pollution [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]