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Urbanisation is one of the biggest environmental challenges of our time, yet we still lack an integrative understanding of how cities affect behaviour, physiology and parasite susceptibility of free-living organisms. In this study, we focus on carotenoids, strictly dietary micronutrients that can either be used as yellow-red pigments, for integument colouration (signalling function), or as antioxidants, to strengthen the immune system (physiological function) in an urban predator, the Eurasian kestrel (Falco tinnunculus). Kestrels are specialised vole hunters but shift to avian prey in cities where diurnal rodents are not sufficiently available. This different foraging strategy might determine the quantity of carotenoids available. We measured integument colouration, circulating carotenoids in the blood and ectoparasite burden in kestrels along an urban gradient. Our results showed that nestlings that were raised in more urbanised areas displayed, unrelated to their ectoparasite burden, a paler integument colouration. Paler colours were furthermore associated with a lower concentration of circulating carotenoids. These findings support the hypothesis that the entire urban food web is carotenoid deprived and only prey of low quality with low carotenoid content is available (e.g. fewer carotenoids in urban trees, insects, small birds and finally kestrels). The alternative hypothesis that nestlings allocate carotenoids to reduce physiological stress and/or to cope with parasites rather than invest into colouration could not be supported. Our study adds to existing evidence that urban stressors negatively affect carotenoid production in urban areas, a deficiency that dissipate into higher trophic levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trichomonosis caused by the flagellate Trichomonas gallinae is one of the most important avian diseases worldwide. The parasite is localised in the oesophageal area of its host and mainly infects pigeon and dove species. During the last decade, a host expansion to passerine birds occurred, making the disease a potential threat for passerine predators as naïve host species. Here, we investigated the effect of the parasite on two Accipiter species in Germany which show a comparable lifestyle but differ in prey choice, the Northern goshawk (Accipiter gentilis) mainly hunting pigeons and the Eurasian sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus) mainly feeding on passerines. We genetically identified the parasite strains using the Fe-Hydrogenase gene as marker locus and compared the incidence of parasite presence and clinical signs of trichomonosis between nestlings of the two Accipiter species. In total, we identified 14 strains, with nine strains unknown so far. There was a higher strain diversity and prevalence of Trichomonas spp. in goshawks than sparrowhawks (42.4% vs. 21.2%) whereas sparrowhawks when being infected more often displayed clinical signs of trichomonosis than goshawks (37.1% vs. 6.1%). Even though sparrowhawks were mainly infected with the finch epidemic strain and genetic data indicated some variation between isolates, no correlation with virulence could be detected. All in all, goshawks seem to be better adapted to Trichomonas infections, whereas to sparrowhawks, this is a novel disease with more severe manifestations, from individual morbidity to a higher risk of population decline caused by trichomonosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite a rich literature on the effects of self-efficacy (SE) on various outcomes, there is little discussion of its effects on obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The purpose of this study was to develop and validate the Facing-Contamination Self-Efficacy Scale (FC-SES), a measure of beliefs about one's capability to face OCD-relevant contamination triggers. The final sample consisted of 129 participants, age 18 and over, who were recruited through Amazon's Mechanical Turk. Factor structure, reliability, and validity were assessed using exploratory factor analysis, Cronbach's alpha, and correlational analyses, respectively. Factor analysis yielded 2 clearly interpretable factors: human-related contamination (9 items), and animal-related contamination (5 items). The 14-item FC-SES demonstrated very good internal consistency reliability (α =.87), as well as good convergent and discriminant validity. Results suggest the FC-SES is a valid and reliable tool that can be used in future research exploring the relationship between SE and contamination-related OCD symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We studied phototaxis, the directional movement relative to light, in the bumble bee Bombus terrestris. We first developed and validated a MATLAB-based system enabling reliable high-resolution tracking of a bee and a measurement of her distance relative to a changing LED light source. Using this system, we found in all our experiments that workers show positive phototaxis. The strength of the phototactic response was influenced by body size but not age, and this effect was significant when the light source was weak. In a separate experiment, foragers showed stronger phototactic response compared with nurses only in one of two trials in which they were larger and tested with weak light intensity. The evidence that phototaxis is associated with size-based division of labor in the bumble bee and with age-related division of labor in the honey bee lends credence to response threshold models implicating the response to light in the organization of division of labor in cavity dwelling social insects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A group action on the input ring or category induces an action on the algebraic K-theory spectrum. However, a shortcoming of this naive approach to equivariant algebraic K-theory is, for example, that the map of spectra with G-action induced by a G-map of G-rings is not equivariant. We define a version of equivariant algebraic K-theory which encodes a group action on the input in a functorial way to produce a genuine algebraic K-theory G-spectrum for a finite group G. The main technical work lies in studying coherent actions on the input category. A payoff of our approach is that it builds a unifying framework for equivariant topological K-theory, Atiyah's Real K-theory, and existing statements about algebraic K-theory spectra with G-action. We recover the map from the Quillen-Lichtenbaum conjecture and the representational assembly map studied by Carlsson and interpret them from the perspective of equivariant stable homotopy theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Onco type DX testing is reimbursed in Israel for node-negative and node-positive (N1+; up to 3 positive nodes including micrometastases), estrogen receptor positive (ER+), breast cancer patients. This retrospective study evaluated the impact of Onco type DX testing on treatment decisions in N1+/ER+ breast cancer patients. To this end, we compared treatments for all N+ patients for whom testing had been ordered with treatments for patients with similar characteristics where the test had not been available. The retrospective analysis included 951 patients (282 Onco type DX, 669 controls), all of whom received endocrine therapy with or without chemotherapy. In Onco type DX patients, 7.1, 37.0, and 100 % of those with low, intermediate, and high Recurrence Score results (Onco type DX summary score) received chemotherapy, respectively ( P < 0.0001, all comparisons). Chemotherapy use was lower in Onco type DX patients versus controls (24.5 vs. 70.1 %). In a multivariate logistic regression analysis in which the probability of receiving chemotherapy was modeled as a function of Onco type DX testing, age, tumor size, tumor grade, nodal status, and the interactions between Onco type DX testing and the other covariates, Onco type DX testing was associated with significantly lower odds of receiving chemotherapy (odds ratio 0.16; 95 % CI 0.11-0.24; P < 0.0001). In summary, our findings suggest that Onco type DX testing has a significant impact on reducing chemotherapy use in N1+/ER+ breast cancer patients in Israel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vascular endothelial cells undergo many molecular changes during pathological processes such as inflammation and tumour development. Tumours such as malignant lymphomas affecting bone marrow are dependent on interactions with endothelial cells for (1) site-specific homing and (2) tumour-induced angiogenesis. Modifications in glycosylation are responsible for fine-tuning of distinct endothelial surface receptors. In order to gain a comprehensive insight into the regulation of the endothelial glycome, comprising genes encoding for sugar transporters (sugar s/t), glycosyltransferases (GT), glycan-degrading enzymes (GD) and lectins (GBP), we performed gene profiling analysis of the human bone marrow–derived microvascular endothelial cell line HBMEC-60 that resembles closely in its biological behaviour primary bone marrow endothelial cells. HBMEC were activated by either angiogenic VEGF or the inflammatory cytokine TNF. Approximately 48% (207 genes) of the 432 glycome genes tested were found to be expressed in HBMEC-60 cells. Inflammatory and angiogenic signals produce different profiles of up- or down-regulated glycome genes, most prominent changes were seen under TNF stimulation in terms of signal intensity and number of alterations. Stimulation by VEGF and TNF affected primarily genes encoding for glycosyltransferases and in particular those important for terminal modulation. For instance, an enhanced α2,6 sialylation was observed after TNF stimulation at the transcriptional and glycan expression level whereas transcription of ST3Gal1 sialylating in α2,3 position was enhanced after VEGF stimulation. Transcriptional analysis of the glycome gives insights into the differential regulation of glycosylation pathways and may help to understand the functional impact of endothelial glycosylation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The disialoganglioside GD3 (CD60 a) and its O-acetylated variants have previously been described as surface molecules of human T lymphocytes of the peripheral blood system. Here we report the expression of the 9- O-, and 7- O-acetylated disialoglycans of GD3 (CD60 b and CD60 c respectively) on human tonsillar lymphocytes. CD60 b and c are surface-expressed on activated germinal centre B cells and colocalize in raft-like structures on the cell surface together with the cytoplasmic tyrosine kinase Lyn and Syk. Addition of CD60 b and c mAb together with anti-IgM/IL-4 to in vitro cultivated tonsillar B cells resulted in a costimulatory effect. During spontaneous and staurosporine-induced apoptosis a distinct population of activated annexin V+/CD60 b+/CD60 c- B cells was observed. CD60 b and c are also found on cells of the extrafollicular T cell area. On tonsillar T cells, CD60 b mAb had a costimulatory effect together with PHA while CD60 c mAb alone was sufficient to induce proliferation. In further contrast to B cells, during apoptosis a distinct CD60 b+ T cell subpopulation was not observed. Together, surface-expressed CD60 b and c are differently expressed on tonsillar B and T cells and may be involved in the regulation of activation and apoptosis of lymphocytes in secondary lymphatic tissue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acquired resistance towards apoptosis is the hallmark of most if not all types of cancer. We have previously identified and characterized ARTS, a broadly expressed protein localized to mitochondria. ARTS was initially shown to mediate TGF-ß induced apoptosis. Recently, we have found that high levels of ARTS induce apoptosis without additional pro-apoptotic stimuli. Further, ARTS promotes apoptosis in response to a wide variety of pro-apoptotic stimuli. Here, we report that the expression of ARTS is lost in all lymphoblasts of more than 70% of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) patients. The loss of ARTS is specific, as the related non-apoptotic protein H5, bearing 83% identity to ARTS, is unaffected. During remission, ARTS expression is detected again in almost all patients. Two leukemic cell lines, ALL-1 and HL-60 lacking ARTS, were resistant to apoptotic induction by ara-C. Transfection of ARTS into these cells restored their ability to undergo apoptosis in response to this chemotherapeutic agent. We found that methylation process contributes to the loss of ARTS expression. We conclude that the loss of ARTS may provide a selective advantage for cells to escape apoptosis thereby contributing to their transformation to malignant lymphoblasts. We therefore propose that ARTS can function as a tumor suppressor protein in childhood ALL.Oncogene (2004) 23, 5468-5475. doi:10.1038/sj.onc.1207725 Published online 3 May 2004 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We studied the records of 101 patients with delusional disorder admitted to the Psychiatric Hospital between 1920 and 1980 and divided the sample into those with jealous (43) and those with nonjealous (58) delusions. Patients and relatives were located by telephone and follow-up information was collected. Compared with the nonjealous patients, the jealous ones were more likely to have had a single delusion, and to have experienced a more benign course as indicated by a lower rate of hospitalization and outpatient treatment. The original delusion tended to remain and the illness did not develop into another form of delusional disorder or other psychiatric illness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents corrections to an article published in previous issues of the periodical "Oncogene."