Majority Of Sections Research Articles

Biodiversity and climate change: Risks to dwarf succulents in Southern Africa

The aim of this study was to explore the effects of anthropogenic climate change on the dwarf succulent genus Conophytum (Aizoaceae) within areas recognised for their floral biodiversity, namely the Succulent Karoo, Fynbos, Desert and Nama Karoo biomes of South Africa and Namibia. Niche-based modelling was used to identify the key climatic and geological variables influencing the distribution of members of the genus Conophytum. The distribution of the genus is primarily controlled by a small number of environmental variables, notably winter and summer rainfall levels, together with geology. Assuming a zero-dispersal model, the predicted effect of both the A1B and A2 climatic emission scenarios was a severe contraction in the area satisfying the bioclimatic envelope for the genus coupled with significant range dislocation. Reductions of >90% in suitable habitat for 10 of the 16 taxonomic Sections that comprise the genus and represent >80% of taxa under the A2 scenario are predicted. Under A1B the projected effects are ameliorated, but reductions of >50% of habitat can be seen in a majority of Sections. Significant projected reductions in the habitable bioclimatic envelope are very likely to increase risk of extinction of ∼80% of taxa even under a partly mitigated emissions scenario.

An update on the activities of WPA scientific sections.

Scientific Sections keep on having a prominent position in the working of WPA, especially for promoting and disseminating scientific knowledge around the globe. The current number of Sections has increased to 69, after the establishment of the new Section on HIV/AIDS Psychiatry, chaired by M.A. Cohen. WPA Sections enjoy a great degree of independence within the framework of the WPA Statutes and By-Laws (1,2). The Section work is supported by an Operational Committee headed by the Secretary for Sections. During the 2014 World Congress of Psychiatry in Madrid, Section officers attended a special meeting, during which reports were presented about the activities implemented during the triennium 2011-2014. The results of a WPA survey showed that the majority of Sections were fully functional during that period. Organizing sessions at WPA sponsored and co-sponsored meetings was found to be the most common activity (implemented by 88% of Sections). There was also a noticeable increase in the number of WPA co-sponsored meetings organized by individual Sections during 2011-2014. The number of such WPA co-sponsored meetings and conferences (either organized as an independent meeting and/or supported by one of the WPA Scientific Sections) reached a very high number (39 meetings compared to 17 meetings in the triennium 2008-2011). Within the World Congress, 65 symposia and 22 workshops were organized by Sections. Some Scientific Sections have produced position statements during the triennium (e.g., that on independent medical examinations by the Forensic Psychiatry Section), and others have developed training courses for residents (e.g., that developed by the Section on Religion, Spirituality and Psychiatry). Several Sections also have officially linked international scientific journals. These include the Journal of Affective Disorders, Psychopathology, Academic Psychiatry, History of Psychiatry, Personality and Mental Health, the Journal of Mental Health Policy and Economics, the International Journal of Mental Health, the Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, Activitas Nervosa Superior, Psychiatry in General Practice, Transcultural Psychiatry, and the Archives of Women’s Mental Health. The survey also revealed that WPA membership have considerable information on the activities of the WPA Scientific Sections, and 60% of the responding Member Societies rated the impact and visibility of these activities as “excellent” or “good”, while the quality of these activities was rated as “excellent” or “good” by 65% of the respondents. The WPA Action Plan for 2014-2017 (3) was also discussed during the Madrid meeting, with a special emphasis on Sections’ future role in developing the theme of promotion of mental health as a targeted action. Sections have indeed started planning various activities looking at a number of aspects of this particular area, with a main focus on producing educational leaflets for the general public, updating the WPA website, preparing slides and educational material for professionals, developing slides and educational material for medical students, providing suggestions for curriculum development for trainees in psychiatry, producing guidelines and consensus statements, organizing scientific sessions at WPA meetings, identifying themes for intersectional collaboration, implementing some joint intersectional projects, and strengthening links with other allied professional organizations. The Sections also keep on having their elections every three years, and it is heartening to note that most of them have elected new members on these positions. This will certainly help WPA in promotion of leadership and involvement of young psychiatrists in the working of the Association. There will be a prominent participation of Scientific Sections at the forthcoming WPA International Conference in Bucharest (June 2015). An Intersectional Forum is also planned there on the topic of old age psychiatry, and two intersectional educational teaching and training programmes will also take place. Section officers and members are also contributing extensively to the WPA official journal World Psychiatry (4–18). Their interest and participation in the development of the chapter on mental disorders of the ICD-11 is another ongoing contribution to the psychiatric field (19,20). It is expected that the enthusiasm of Scientific Sections for their WPA work will continue and will bring further contributions to the quality of scientific knowledge and the development of innovative approaches in psychiatric practice.

Preliminary notes on dual relevance of ITS sequences and pigments in <I>Hygrocybe</I> taxonomy

The relationships based on ITS sequences of 48 Hygrocybe s.l. specimens were studied and compared with previously described taxonomic groups. Our specimens formed two well separated genetic groups. The first one includes the species characterized by vivid yellow and red colours, while species belonging to other clades were pallid or pale brown, and in most cases with pink or olive tones. This separation is supported by the presence of muscaflavin pigments among some species referred to Hygrocybe (Bresinsky & Kronawitter 1986). The subgenera distinguished by morphological features can be relatively well recognized on phylogenetic trees, however, the majority of sections were not supported. Variability in the ITS region of Hygrocybe species is unusually high. In some cases sequences differed by more than 25 %, and the lengths of ITS regions also showed large differences. Taxa that were considered as closely related, e.g. the H. conica aggregate, were found to have identical or highly similar sequences. Our results seem to confirm the taxonomic concept of Bresinsky (2008) who proposed the division of the genus Hygrocybe. Hence H. calyptriformis and all examined members of subg. Gliophorus (H. irrigata, H. laeta, H. nitrata, H. psittacina) and subg. Cuphophyllus could be excluded from the genus Hygrocybe s.str. Based on these results further research using DNA markers at the intergeneric level is suggested to revaluate the taxonomy of former Hygrocybe species.

Structural steelwork for Střížkov underground station, Prague

AbstractA new underground station at Střížkov in Prague has been designed and built as a special structure with a high level of aesthetics. The hall structure is 160 m long, 42 m wide and 20 m high. Two crossing hingeless main arches spanning 160 m are fixed to concrete pylons. The roof structure is suspended from the main arches using a system of prestressed rods and supported by columns around the roof. Most of the members are curved with variable cross‐sections (the majority of sections are welded boxes with a plate thickness of 10—35 mm except the columns, which are welded I‐sections). The geometry of all parts made design, fabrication and erection very difficult. The whole structure was built under the direct supervision of the architect. The underground station was opened to the public in May 2008.

Abstract 3245: SRC-3: A prostate cancer oncogene with the same modus operandi in different niches

Abstract Prostatic adenocarcinoma will affect one in six American men and represents the second leading cause of cancer death in this population. Tumors that are locally invasive/ metastatic at diagnosis cause the majority of prostate cancer deaths. SRC3 is a p160 family coactivator overexpressed in invasive prostate cancers. A recent study in our laboratory demonstrated it is also highly expressed in tumors of the TRAMP mouse, a cancer model in which an androgen-responsive probasin promoter drives expression of the SV40 viral oncogene in several prostate cell types. Global deletion of SRC3 in TRAMP mice arrested primary prostate tumors at the well-differentiated stage and eliminated metastasis. Transformation of prostatic luminal epithelial cells (LECs) into invasive cancers is a key feature of the TRAMP phenotype. Therefore, we hypothesized selective deletion of SRC3 in these cells would inhibit primary tumor growth and metastasis. To test the hypothesis, we crossed floxed SRC3/TRAMP mice with mice harboring a Cre recombinase gene driven by the LEC-specific probasin promoter. Efficacy of SRC3 knockout in SRC3c−/−/TRAMP mice was confirmed via immunohistochemistry and Western blotting. We compared prostate tumor size, composition and metastases in SRC3c−/−/TRAMP vs. WT/TRAMP mice at 12 (n=3/5), 18 (n=7/7), 24 (n=9/9) and 30 (n=6/6) weeks of age. We observed no statistically significant differences in prostate or GU tract weight at any time point, though a trend toward decreased tumor size in the knockout was evident at 30 weeks. Tumor composition differed between SRC3c−/−/TRAMP and WT/TRAMP mice at 24 and 30 weeks. While synaptophysin(+) (neuroendocrine) cells were virtually absent in dedifferentiated regions of WT/TRAMP prostate, large synaptophysin(+) cell clusters were visible in the majority of sections taken from prostates of in SRC3c−/−/TRAMP mice. Neuroendocrine cell clusters were positive for SRC3 and negative for AR. Interestingly, 24 and 30 week-old SRC3c−/−/TRAMP mice also had tumors of the liver, lung and kidney: common sites of neuroendocrine metastasis in the TRAMP model. Given that SRC3c−/−/TRAMP mice have primary tumors of equivalent size to WT/TRAMP but skewed toward neuroendocrine composition, SRC3 deletion in luminal epithelial cells appears to inhibit cancer growth in a cell autonomous fashion thus enabling neuroendocrine proliferation and metastasis. Since global SRC3−/−/TRAMP mice have no neuroendocrine tumors, our findings indicate SRC3 may also act as an oncogene in neuroendocrine cancer. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 3245.

Section 5(4) (The nurse's holding power): patterns of use in one mental health trust (1983-2006)

The majority of studies exploring the use of Section 5(4) (Nurses' holding power) of the Mental Health Act 1983 are now dated, report on small numbers and have been undertaken over relatively short periods of time. A retrospective study was undertaken which sought to identify the factors associated with the use of the section in one mental health trust over a 24-year period (1983-2006). Section 5(4) was applied on 803 occasions, an average of 33.4 times per annum. The majority of sections were applied to female patients (58.4%) by male nurses (54.9%) within adult acute inpatient settings (93.4%). Significant differences were noted in the use of the section over the 24-h period but not for month of the year or day of the week. A total of 349 (43.5%) sections were implemented during doctors' 'office hours' (Monday-Friday, 9:00 h to 17:00 h). The mean length of time spent on the section was 140 min; 80.6% of patients were assessed by a doctor within 4 h; and 8.3% remained on the section for 6 h or more. The holding power was converted to another section of the Act on 642 (80%) occasions. A similar, multi-sited prospective study could be undertaken to validate the findings of this study.

Geochemistry and metal potential of triassic carbonaceous silicites in Sikhote Alin

In the Triassic siliceous formation of Sikhote Alin, carbonaceous silicites occur in the late Olenekian-middle Anisian member (4–20 m) of alternating cherts and clayey cherts (“phtanite member”) near the section base. The silicites are represented by radiolarian and spicule-radiolarian cherts alternating with clayey cherts. They contain up to 8.5% Corg. In the majority of sections, the rocks underwent structural and mineral transformation at the mesocatagenetic stage. The slightly oxidized organic (primarily, marine sapropelic) matter contains quinones, methyl, methylene, and ether groups. The content of neutral bitumens in rocks shows a wide variation range. The carbon isotopic composition in phtanites and clayey phtanites (δ13C from −27.3 to −30.2‰) is identical to that in many Paleozoic-Mesozoic bitumens and oils. As compared with other Mesozoic sedimentary rocks of Sikhote Alin, the carbonaceous silicites are enriched in V, B, Mo, Ni, Cu, and Ag. Anomalously high concentrations of Ba are recorded in phtanite rock sections at the Gornaya and Khor rivers and in the vicinity of Khabarovsk. Modal value of the Au content in phtanites and clayey phtanites is three or four times higher than the clarke value in carbonaceous silicites and reaches anomalous values in some sections (e.g., Ogorodnaya River section). Carbonaceous silicites of this section are also enriched in Pt. Positive Au-Corg correlation is recorded in clayey phtanites of the Ogorodnaya River section containing more than 0.5% Corg. In organic fractions, Au and Ag are concentrated in alcohol and alcohol-benzene bitumens, asphalt acids, and asphaltenes. Migration of bitumens from high-carbonaceous clayey phtanites to the pore-fissure space of cherts and phtanites also fostered the concentration of these metals in some low-carbonaceous layers of the member.

Teachers' task demands, students' test expectations, and actual test content.

Previous studies on instructional importance show that individual students and their teachers differ in the topics that they consider important in the context of an upcoming teacher-made test. This study aimed to examine whether such differences between students' test expectations and teachers' intended task demands can be explained by the actual test content. Participants were history teachers (N=19) and their 11th-grade students (N=388). Teachers and students rated the importance of text sections that would be tested in the near future. By means of multilevel analysis, ratings were compared with the occurrence of sections in the tests. Although teachers considered a majority of sections as important and tested only a minority of the sections, their tests still included sections rated as unimportant. The number of such discrepancies, however, was relatively small. Sections the teachers rated important had a much higher probability of being included in the test than sections rated unimportant. For students, a similar but lower degree of correspondence between ratings and test content was found. Interestingly, for sections that teachers considered important, students more often gave a higher rating when these sections appeared in the test than when they did not. The same holds for sections that teachers considered unimportant. For both teachers and students there is a limited correspondence between perceived task demands and test content. Furthermore, students' perceptions of task demands show a compensation for some of the differences between their teachers' intended task demands and the test demands.

Evidence of macrophage and lymphocyte, but not dendritic cell, infiltration in posterior uveal melanomas, whilst cultured uveal melanomas demonstrate pluripotency by expressing CD68 and CD163

Although variation in the level of macrophage infiltration has been reported in uveal melanoma, little is known about the expression of other leucocyte markers. An immuno- histochemistry study of the levels of expression of macrophage and other leucocyte markers, in a series of 10 primary choroidal melanoma biopsies, was undertaken. Biopsies were either fixed immediately in formalin and embedded in paraffin wax or established as short-term cultures. Using single- and double-labelling immunohistochemistry, cultured cells and paraffin sections were analysed for a range of melanoma (HMB45, Melan A, S100 and tyrosinase) and immune cell (CD68, CD163, CD45 and CD1a) markers. All samples expressed at least two known melanoma markers. Infiltrating macrophages were present in the majority of sections. When cultured specimens were studied by double-labelling immunofluorescence, uveal melanoma cells were seen to express macrophage markers or have cross-reactivity with related proteins. Expression of the leucocyte antigen CD45 was observed in three tumours but was not present in any cultured cells, whilst the expression of the dendritic cell marker CD1a was absent from all samples.

Osteoclast‐like giant cells in leiomyomatous tumors of the uterus

Osteoclast-like giant cells (OLGC) in leiomyomatous tumors of the uterus are rarely seen, and their significance is unknown. We present a case of a large leiomyomatous tumor in which OLGC were found in only few sections showing leiomyosarcoma whereas the majority of sections revealed a leiomyoma. Though radically operated, the patient died a few months later with recurrent tumor in the pelvis and metastases to the lungs.

Elevated leukaemia inhibitory factor (LIF) expression in lesional psoriatic skin: correlation with interleukin (IL)-8 expression.

Psoriasis is a disease marked by keratinocyte hyperproliferation, neutrophil and lymphocyte infiltration, and aberrant epidermal and dermal expression of cytokines. Previously, it has been shown that LIF appears to be involved in skin inflammation and can induce the expression of IL-8. We sought to determine whether expression of LIF is abnormal in lesional psoriatic skin and whether this correlates with the expression of IL-8. Using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, we measured the expression of LIF and IL-8 mRNA in biopsies from normal individuals, non-lesional psoriatic skin, and lesional psoriatic skin. No difference was seen between the expression of IL-8 and LIF in normal and in non-lesional psoriatic skin. However, LIF expression in lesional skin was increased 160% compared with normal biopsies or non-lesional skin (p < 0.001). Immunostaining of frozen sections showed that the expression of LIF protein was principally suprabasal and, in the majority of sections, concentrated mainly in the stratum corneum of the lesional skin, whereas it was mainly in the stratum spinosum of the normal/non-lesional skin. IL-8 mRNA expression did not differ between the non-lesional and normal skin, but expression in the lesional skin was 17.6-fold greater than in normal skin (p < 0.001), and this expression was correlated with the increased LIF expression (r = 0.67, p < 0.001). Although a significant negative correlation was demonstrated between LIF mRNA expression and the duration of the last outbreak of the disease, no other correlations were found between levels of cytokine expression and a variety of parameters including PASI score. These data suggest a role for keratinocyte LIF in the psoriatic lesion and a link between LIF and IL-8 expression.

Use of mental health legislation in a regional adolescent unit

The use of mental health legislation in a Regional Adolescent Unit over a 10 year period was reviewed. There was a trend of increasing use over time. This was thought to reflect changes in attitude and professional practice subsequent to the introduction of the Children Act 1989. Conversion rates of Section 5(2) were high and practitioners with appropriate training were involved in the majority of sections, indicating good practice.

The expected duration of upward-shallowing peritidal carbonate cycles and their terminal hiatuses

Meter-scale accommodation cycles, which dominate the stratigraphic record of peritidal carbonate accumulation, might provide a time scale of unusually high resolution, but the duration of the hiatuses that cap the resulting cyclothems is difficult to determine. Thousands of rates of peritidal accumulation from many different carbonate sections have been combined, according to the length of the time span of measurement, to describe a hypothetical average section. Because all sections are interrupted by hiatuses, the average accumulation rate falls progressively with increasing time span and most steeply at the time spans that capture the highest proportion of hiatuses. The process of combining rates from many sections cancels local differences in the distribution of hiatuses. Only hiatuses that have similar spacing and duration in a majority of sections will stand out after compilation. The size and position of a pronounced inflection in the combined plot of accumulation rates against time span identifies a dominant cycle period of ∼100,000 yr, of which the terminal hiatus accounts for 80%-90%. The expected cyclothem is ∼10 m thick. Because peritidal accommodation cycles begin and end with the sediment surface at sea level, the expected cycle period can be estimated by finding the time span at which accommodation and accumulation rates balance. The maximum duration of the hiatus is the time span at which rates of subsidence and sea-level fall balance. Compilations of many empirical measurements were again employed to determine the relationship between time span and the rates of subsidence, sea- level change, and net accommodation. This second method confirms the results of the first and can be modified to predict the expected cyclothem in different climatic, tectonic, and depositional settings. Because Quaternary data dominate short-term rates, the hypothetical average section best describes a passive margin in an icehouse climate with strong glacio-eustatic fluctuations in sea level. After modification for an extreme greenhouse climate, devoid of ice caps, the second method predicts that 20,000-yr accommodation cycles will be preferentially recorded.The expected cyclothem is 2 m thick and accounts for about 50% of the cycle period. Increased subsidence rates, whether on active margins, in the initial phase of passive margin formation, or at the seaward edge of a platform, tend to extend the limit of cycle duration, increase cyclothem thickness, and partition less time to the bounding hiatus. Increased subsidence, however, raises the risk that the sediment surface will drown.

Expression of EGF‐receptors on epithelial and stromal cells of normal and inflamed gingiva

Immunolocalization techniques were used to examine the expression of the cell surface receptors of EGF in normal and inflamed gingival tissue. Detectable levels of receptor were not observed in any (0/6) of the normal tissue biopsies examined; in contrast, the EGF-receptor was expressed by both epithelial and stromal cells in 7/9 of the inflamed tissue biopsies. Receptor expression by epithelial cells in inflamed tissues exhibited a variable distribution pattern. In the majority of sections, staining was confined to cells in the spinous, granular and cornified cell layers, with little in the basal layer. Occasionally, isolated islands of stained epithelial cells were present, suggesting their clonal origin. Staining for the EGF receptor was also observed in fibroblasts and endothelial cells throughout the lamina propria of inflamed tissue. Positive staining for the receptor ligand (EGF) was observed in both normal and inflamed tissue. These data suggest that an up-regulation of cell surface receptors for EGF occurs during the inflammatory response, this resulting in an increased cellular responsiveness to EGF.

Detection of bacteria in histological sections of the dental pulp

A series of deep cavities with and without traumatic pulpal exposures were prepared in the maxillary molars of albino rats. They were left untreated for various time intervals before killing. Demineralized sections were prepared in a mesiodistal plane and stained to demonstrate the presence of bacteria. In the cavities and coronal pulps that were grossly contaminated, bacteria were detected in the majority of sections. In the root canals and periapical tissues, bacteria were detected in only a minority of sections. It is considered that serial sections stained to demonstrate bacteria are necessary for the detection of bacteria that are present in only small numbers in the tissues. The demonstration of small numbers of micro-organisms in specific zones of the pulp remains problematic. Failure to detect stained bacteria in histological sections is not absolute proof of their absence.

T-Lymphocyte Subsets in the Lesional Skin of Allogeneic and Autologous Bone Marrow Transplant Patients

Cutaneous biopsy specimens obtained from bone marrow transplant (BMT) patients, most with graft-vs-host disease (GVHD), were analyzed for infiltration by helper, cytotoxic, and suppressor T lymphocytes and natural killer cells. Lesional skin from patients with early mild GVHD and drug reactions showed a CD4/CD8 ratio of 5.0 or more, but later biopsy specimens from patients with acute GVHD and the majority of sections from those with chronic GVHD showed a CD4/CD8 ratio of 0.8 to 3.0 due to increased numbers of presumably cytotoxic cells. Significant numbers of suppressor (CD11 +/- CD16b-) cells were found in only one patient with severe chronic GVHD. Natural killer cells were not found. Preliminary examination of lesional skin from seven autologous BMT patients showed a similar trend of decreased CD4/CD8 ratios in the three patients with a syndrome that resembled GVHD. Analysis of CD4/CD8 ratios in serial biopsy specimens from patients with GVHD may allow more accurate monitoring of the progression of cutaneous GVHD and may help to elucidate the mechanism of development of the GVHD-like reaction in autologous BMT patients.

Postembedding Adjuvants In Routine Microtomy Of Paraffin-Processed Tissues

Soaking the exposed face of routine paraffin-processed tissue blocks from human autopsies in solutions containing either 60% ethyl alcohol-glycerol 9:1; glycerol-aniline 9:1; 5% aqueous phenol; 5% aqueous Photo-flo, or 10% aqueous ammonium hydroxide for 2--4 hours at 0--4 C resulted in greater ease of ribboning and overall improvement of slide quality in the majority of sections compared to the results with the same blocks soaked only in water at 0--4 C. The use of postembedding adjuvants, especially 10% aqueous ammonium hydroxide, presents a simple, convenient, inexpensive means of increasing section quality with routine as well as refractory paraffin-embedded tissue without sacrificing tissue adhesion, staining qualities or cellular detail.

VI.—Notes on the Witwatersrand Beds, Transvaal

In discussing a paper by Mr. J. S. Curtis on the Witwatersrand Gold Deposits, Mr. George Denny has raised the point that the slates or shales of the Witwatersrand, which especially characterise, but are not confined to, the Lower Witwatersrand Beds (Hospital Hill Series), are not of sedimentary, but of igneous origin. He relies chiefly on the fact that he has observed in places that a so-called band of slate cuts across the bedding of the quartzites. I think we are all prepared to agree with him that, where he can point out that this occurs, the rock which traverses the bedded formation must be an igneous intrusion; but such cases are rare. In the vast majority of sections where the slates are exposed, they are found to occur truly bedded, and in conformable relation with the quartzites with which they are associated. It seems to me that, after all, this is in the main a petrological question, which can be easily settled by the examination of the rocks in question under the microscope.With this end in view I have examined a number of thin sections of these rocks, in all cases prepared from the cores of boreholes, on account of the difficulty of obtaining near the surface specimens sufficiently fresh and unweathered for microscopic examination; and I have selected geological horizons which are well known on the Witwatersrand. They are (1) the band of slates which occurs in the neighbourhood of the Bird Reef Series, and (2) the slates which occur in the footwall of the Main Reef itself, in both cases in the eastern portion of the Witwatersrand, as at Van Ryn and Geduld.