North Europeans Research Articles

Positive association between lymphotoxin-alpha variation rs909253 and cancer risk: a meta-analysis based on 36 case–control studies

Lymphotoxin-alpha (LTA) polymorphism rs909253 has been reported to be a risk factor for cancers, but some results are inconsistent. To establish a more conclusive association, we performed a meta-analysis of this variant with cancers. A systematic search was performed for informative case-control studies of rs909253 with cancers among literature databases, including PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and Wanfang Chinese Periodical Database. After a comprehensive filtration procedure, 36 publications involved with 35,677 participants were selected for the current meta-analysis. Stratified factors, such as cancer type, populations, and source of control, were used for a better interpretation of this variant. Minimal heterogeneity was shown in the current meta-analysis (I (2) = 0.0%, P = 0.48). Our results show a significant association of rs909253 and cancer risk (odds ratio (OR) = 1.12, P (z) < 0.001). In the subgroup analysis, significant association of rs909253 was found in adenocarcinoma (OR = 1.16, P (z) < 0.001) and hematological malignancy (OR = 1.10, P (z) < 0.001). Our meta-analyses established a significant association of rs909253 with cancer risk among multiple populations including North Americans, Asians, and Europeans.

Frequency of EGFR mutations in 907 lung adenocarcioma patients of Indian ethnicity.

BackgroundDuring the past decade, the incidence of EGFR mutation has been shown to vary across different ethnicities. It occurs at the rate of 10–15% in North Americans and Europeans, 19% in African-Americans, 20–30% in various East Asian series including Chinese, Koreans, and Japanese. Frequency of EGFR mutations in India however remains sparsely explored.Methodology/Principal FindingsWe report 23% incidence of Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations in 907 Non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients of Indian ethnicity, in contrast to 10–15% known in Caucasians and 27–62% among East Asians. In this study, EGFR mutations were found to be more common in never-smokers 29.4% as compared to smokers 15.3%. Consistent with other populations, mutation rates among adenocarcinoma-males were predominantly lower than females with 32% incidence. However unlike Caucasians, EGFR mutation rate among adenocarcinoma-never-smoker females were comparable to males suggesting lack of gender bias among never smokers likely to benefit from EGFR targeted therapy.Conclusions/SignificanceThis study has an overall implication for establishing relevance for routine EGFR mutation diagnostics for NSCLC patients in clinics and emphasizes effectiveness for adoption of EGFR inhibitors as the first line treatment among Indian population. The intermediate frequency of EGFR mutation among Indian population compared to Caucasians and East Asians is reminiscent of an ancestral admixture of genetic influence from Middle Easterners, Central Asians, and Europeans on modern- Indian population that may confer differential susceptibility to somatic mutations in EGFR.

Oral cancer: from bench to bedside, the continuous effort towards better diagnostic, treatment and prognostic tools

(2013) describe a rare case of mandibular bone metastasis derived from a tumoral prostate adenocarcinoma. While oral cavity and associated tissues are uncommon locations for metastatic tumor spread, bone metastasis is even rarer. In the reported case, the authors describe all the sequence of clinical and radiographic examination, medical history investigation, bone scintilography, incisional biopsy and immunohistochemical analysis of mandibular lesions that allowed the definitive diagnosis, and the subsequent treatment and clinical outcome monitoring. While the prostate adenocarcinoma-derived mandibular bone metastasis comprises an infrequent finding that substantiates a case report, oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) remains as the most common oral neoplasm. Considering that important variations are described in some demographic and clinicopathological aspects of OSCC, a long term (8 years) analysis of more than 300 cases was performed in a Brazilian population, classically described as highly miscegenated from the genetic viewpoint, which contrasts with the more homogenous genetic profiles of the North Americans, Europeans and Asians cohorts used to generate the majority of epidemiological data related to OSCC. In this notable clinical and histopathological effort, PIRES, et al. 3

An investigation of the genetic diversity of the Kerkennah islands and Mahdia (Tunisia) using biparental markers

Background: Kerkennah is one of the main inhabited islands of Tunisia. The origin of the population of Kerkennah has not been established and no well-defined ethnic groups have been identified nor are genetic studies available. Mahdia, a Tunisian coastal city, has a long history dating back to ancient times.Aim: To discover the genetic diversity of the two studied populations and analyse their relationships with other Mediterranean populations.Subject and methods: Seven human-specific Alu insertion polymorphisms were typed in 99 individuals born in Kerkennah and Mahdia.Results: A neighbour-joining tree and MDS multidimensional scaling analysis showed that these Tunisian populations are scattered amongst North African and Europeans populations, indicating their high genetic diversity and mosaic aspect. The important finding of this study was the proximity of Kerkennah to Moroccans. Hence, the actual gene pool of this insular population may descend from the ancestral population known to be of Moroccan origin. Concerning Mahdia, its closeness to Eurasian populations and some Tunisian groups reflected a high Eurasian genetic component for North African populations and confirmed their heterogeneity.Conclusion: The strategic location of the two studied populations and their fortifications have allowed them to play a leading role in the Mediterranean basin.

Determination of the CCR5∆32 frequency in Emiratis and Tunisians and the screening of the CCR5 gene for novel alleles in Emiratis

BackgroundThe chemokine receptor components play crucial roles in the immune system and some of them serve as co-receptors for the HIV virus. Several studies have documented that variants in chemokine receptors are correlated with susceptibility and resistance to infection with HIV virus. For example, mutations in the chemokine receptor 5 gene (CCR5) resulting in loss-of-function (such as the homozygous CCR5∆32) confer high degree of resistance to HIV infection. Heterozygotes for these variants exhibit slow progression to AIDS. The prevalence of CCR5 polymorphisms varies among ethnic and geographical groups. For example, the CCR5∆32 variant is present in 10–15% of north Europeans but is rarely encountered among Africans. This study aims to identify the prevalence of some CCR5 variants in two geographically distant Arab populations (namely Emiratis and Tunisians). MethodologyThe prevalence of CCR5 gene variants including CCR5∆32, FS299, C101X, A29S and C178R has been determined using PCR and direct DNA sequencing. A total of 403 unrelated healthy individuals (253 Emiratis and 150 Tunisians) were genotyped for the CCR5∆32 variant using PCR amplification and gel electrophoresis. In addition, 200 Emiratis have been screened for other SNPs using Sanger DNA sequencing. ResultsAmong Emiratis, the allele frequency of the CCR5∆32 variant has been found to be 0.002. In addition, two variants L55Q and A159 were found at a frequency of 0.002. Moreover, the prevalence of the CCR5∆32 variant in Tunisians was estimated to be 0.013 which is relatively higher than its frequency in Emiratis but lower than Europeans. ConclusionWe conclude that the allele frequency of the most critical CCR5 polymorphism (∆32) is extremely low among Emiratis compared to other Arabs and North Europeans. In addition, very low allele frequencies of other CCR5 polymorphisms have been detected among Emiratis.

Dream characteristics in a Brazilian sample: an online survey focusing on lucid dreaming

During sleep, humans experience the offline images and sensations that we call dreams, which are typically emotional and lacking in rational judgment of their bizarreness. However, during lucid dreaming (LD), subjects know that they are dreaming, and may control oneiric content. Dreaming and LD features have been studied in North Americans, Europeans and Asians, but not among Brazilians, the largest population in Latin America. Here we investigated dreams and LD characteristics in a Brazilian sample (n = 3,427; median age = 25 years) through an online survey. The subjects reported recalling dreams at least once a week (76%), and that dreams typically depicted actions (93%), known people (92%), sounds/voices (78%), and colored images (76%). The oneiric content was associated with plans for the upcoming days (37%), memories of the previous day (13%), or unrelated to the dreamer (30%). Nightmares usually depicted anxiety/fear (65%), being stalked (48%), or other unpleasant sensations (47%). These data corroborate Freudian notion of day residue in dreams, and suggest that dreams and nightmares are simulations of life situations that are related to our psychobiological integrity. Regarding LD, we observed that 77% of the subjects experienced LD at least once in life (44% up to 10 episodes ever), and for 48% LD subjectively lasted less than 1 min. LD frequency correlated weakly with dream recall frequency (r = 0.20, p < 0.01), and LD control was rare (29%). LD occurrence was facilitated when subjects did not need to wake up early (38%), a situation that increases rapid eye movement sleep (REMS) duration, or when subjects were under stress (30%), which increases REMS transitions into waking. These results indicate that LD is relatively ubiquitous but rare, unstable, difficult to control, and facilitated by increases in REMS duration and transitions to wake state. Together with LD incidence in USA, Europe and Asia, our data from Latin America strengthen the notion that LD is a general phenomenon of the human species.

Abstract PR4: Prioritizing SNPs for gene-environment interaction studies.

Abstract Background: In the post-GWAS era, investigating gene-environment interactions for disease in large-scale observational studies poses new challenges. Existing single studies are not originally powered to investigate gene-environment interactions when genome-wide variation is taken into account. Pooling studies still may not offer enough power, and introduces the problem of heterogeneity in study designs and specifically in the measurement of environmental characteristics. Therefore, current approaches are multistage, with the first stage aimed at prioritizing SNPs, thereby reducing the number of SNPs before testing their interactions with environmental factors. Methods: Current strategies for prioritizing SNPs in gene-environment interaction studies 1) with available genome-wide data for genetic variation, or 2) without readily available genome-wide data for genetic variation as in The Netherlands Cohort Study on diet and cancer are described and discussed. Results: In current gene-environment interaction studies with genome-wide data for genetic variation, several approaches are used to prioritize SNPs to be tested in further gene-environment interactions. Two screening test statistics proposed are either marginal genetic association or correlation based. The underlying idea is that SNPs likely to show interactions with environment will at least show a slight association with outcome or correlation with the environment. Gene-environment interactions are then usually first tested on a SNP by SNP basis. In the Netherlands Cohort Study on diet and cancer (NLCS), genome-wide data on genetic variants are not readily available. For ongoing projects within the NLCS, the strategies for SNP reduction to a priority list of up to 100 SNPs, depend on the hypothesis to be tested. First, genes are selected from pathways thought to be involved in the association between the environmental factor and the outcome. After gene selection using the KEGG database and literature, further prioritizing of SNPs is conducted using literature through MEDLINE and the HuGE Navigator using a pre-defined search strategy focusing on a particular pathway. The search strategy includes the SNP and either the outcome, related outcomes (that share similar etiology), or environmental factors. Inclusion criteria for SNPs further include a minor allele frequency over 10% in North Europeans or Caucasians, a positive SNP validation status according to dbSNP, and a position within 10 kb upstream of the 5'untranslated region and 10 kb downstream of the 3'untranslated region of the gene. SNPs are then ranked according to a pre-defined scoring strategy based on the number of significant associations observed in the literature with outcome and exposure. Gene-environment interactions can be explored using several complementary approaches, both exploratory (random forests and multifactor dimensionality reduction techniques) and parametric methods. Conclusions: Different strategies for prioritizing SNPs for gene-environment interaction studies exist. They show some similarity in that prioritizing is based on the association between the SNP and the outcome and/or the SNP and the environment, either in own data (availability of tag SNPs) or in the literature (e.g. NLCS pathway based approach). There is a need for a formal discussion and a more uniform strategy for prioritizing SNPs in gene-environment interaction studies especially when focusing on specific pathways. This proffered talk is also presented as Poster 53. Citation Format: Matty P. Weijenberg, Colinda C.J.M. Simons, Leo J. Schouten, Milan S. Geybels, Bas A. Verhage, Janneke G. Hogervorst, Andras P. Keszei, Roger W. Godschalk, Frederik-Jan van Schooten, Piet A. van den Brandt. Prioritizing SNPs for gene-environment interaction studies. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Post-GWAS Horizons in Molecular Epidemiology: Digging Deeper into the Environment; 2012 Nov 11-14; Hollywood, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2012;21(11 Suppl):Abstract nr PR4.

Confirmation of Nonanesthetic-induced Malignant Hyperthermia

To the Editor: We read with interest the important study by Groom et al. , Identical de novo Mutation in the type 1 Ryanodine Receptor Gene Associated with Fatal, Stress-induced Malignant Hyperthermia in Two Unrelated Families.1Although we are pleased that this article merited an editorial, Nonanesthetic Malignant Hyperthermia by Lehmann-Horn et al. ,2we have several concerns about its content.First, we question the editorial's statement, “The in vitro contracture test performed on a muscle biopsy of the boy reported in this article would be considered by Europeans as malignant hyperthermia (MH) equivocal.”2As reported by Groom et al. , case 1 had a mean response of 8.5 g (9.3, 9.0, 7.1 g) contracture in the presence of 3% halothane (less than 0.7 g contracture is designated non-MH susceptible) and a mean 2.4 g (1.9, 2.9 g, insufficient muscle to permit testing in triplicate) contracture in the presence of 2 mM caffeine (less than 0.3 g is non-MH susceptible)1(Sheila M. Muldoon, M.D., Professor of Anesthesiology, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland, written communication, December 6, 2011). This MH contracture test was conducted according to the standards of the North American Malignant Hyperthermia Group3with clearly positive responses in all five muscle strips to both the halothane and the caffeine portions of this test.4The North American and European MH biopsy methods are similar but not identical. The most important differences are bolus versus incremental halothane exposure and the European designation of an equivocal research diagnostic category for subjects demonstrating positive contracture responses only to halothane or only to caffeine exposures.3,5Islander and Twetman have studied the concordance of the North American and European biopsy protocols. Although Islander and Twetman's excellent study found an accordance in diagnostic outcome between the European and North American protocols of 87%, they noted a 100% accordance for individuals with contractures exceeding thresholds in at least five of six tested muscle strips. They observed diverging outcomes in subjects with less reproducible test results near the cutoff limits of their respective protocols.6Because case 1's results markedly exceeded North American diagnostic thresholds by an order of magnitude in five of five tested muscle strips to both halothane and caffeine exposures, we contend that this patient should be designated by both North Americans and Europeans to be MH susceptible and not equivocal and thus, a suitable genetic research subject.Second, although we are aware of individual case reports, there have been no large-scale human studies that support the statement of Lehmann-Horn et al. that MH-susceptible individuals presenting with ophthalmoplegia and muscle hypotonia, hypertrophy, or spasms will be at risk for nonanesthetic MH. We believe that the authors should have clearly noted that this was only their opinion.Finally, despite diligent parental care and aggressive medical interventions, children such as the one described in case 1 are at risk of death from this poorly understood condition. In such situations, blaming the parents helps no one.

High Lactose Tolerance in North Europeans: A Result of Migration, Not In Situ Milk Consumption

The main carbohydrate in milk is lactose, which must be hydrolyzed to glucose and galactose before the sugars can be digested. While 65% or more of the total human population are lactose intolerant, in some human populations lactase activity commonly persists into adulthood. Lactose tolerance is exceptionally widespread in Northern European countries such as Sweden and Finland, with tolerance levels of 74% and 82%, respectively. Theoretically, this may result either from a strong local selection pressure for lactose tolerance, or from immigration of lactose tolerant people to Northern Europe. We provide several lines of archaeological and historical evidence suggesting that the high lactose tolerance in North Europeans cannot be explained by selection from in situ milk consumption. First, fresh cow milk has not belonged to the traditional diet of Swedes or Finns until recent times. Second, not enough milk has been available for adult consumption. Cattle herding has been neither widespread nor productive enough in Northern Europe to have provided constant access to fresh milk. We suggest that the high prevalence of lactose tolerance in Finland in particular may be explained by immigration of people representing so-called Corded Ware Culture, an early culture representing agricultural development in Europe.

Death in the New World: Cross-Cultural Encounters, 1492-1800. By Erik R. Seeman

Erik R. Seeman, associate professor of history at State University of New York, Buffalo, has spent a good deal of time examining the ways of dying practiced by North American Indians, Africans, and Europeans as they interacted with one another in the “New World.” Accordingly, his research covers the late fifteenth century to the end of the eighteenth century in colonial America. Not only does his Death in the New World focus on ways of dying but so does his more recent book, The Huron-Wendat Feast of the Dead. Moreover, these two books, as well as his earlier book, Pious Persuasions, all demonstrate his keen interest in the relationship between doctrine and belief, on the one hand, and ritual and religious practice, on the other. Five hundred years ago, Seeman tells us, when European and foreign peoples encountered one another in the “New World,” they were curious about one another's ways of dying. In order to understand a strange society's “ways of living,” it was necessary to observe their “ways of dying.” With this observation, Seeman begins his Death in the New World, suggests the scope of his study, and orients his meticulously researched book. He uses the term deathways (a more extensive term than “ways of dying”) to signify “deathbed scenes, corpse preparation, burial practices, funerals, mourning, and commemoration,” by which a people “discerned clues about how unfamiliar peoples conceptualized the afterlife and the supernatural, how they honored elites, what they considered to be the proper relation between parents and children, and many other crucial beliefs and practices” (1). If we seek to understand deeply the cross-cultural encounters in the “New World,” Seeman argues, the deathways of the peoples concerned provide us with rich material that is almost without parallel. Deathways offers this window into understanding because every population group in the Americas, first, deals with death as an ever-present reality; second, possesses a religious system that provides an explanation of death and the afterlife; third, was captivated by the outsiders' deathways; and finally, left a material record of their own deathways. To approach his task, Seeman makes ample use of work from several fields of historical scholarship and frames his examination of the encounter of distinct peoples along the lines of similarity and difference, cultural parallels, and syncretism, all of which makes for an instructive read.

What is the comparative health status and associated risk factors for the Métis? A population-based study in Manitoba, Canada

BackgroundMétis are descendants of early 17th century relationships between North American Indians and Europeans. This study's objectives were: (1) to compare the health status of the Métis people to all other residents of Manitoba, Canada; and (2) to analyze factors in predicting the likelihood of diabetes and related lower limb amputation.MethodsUsing de-identified administrative databases plus the Métis Population Database housed at the Manitoba Centre for Health Policy, age/sex-adjusted rates of mortality and disease were calculated for Métis (n = 73,016) and all other Manitobans (n = 1,104,672). Diseases included: hypertension, arthritis, diabetes, ischemic heart disease (age 19+); osteoporosis (age 50+); acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and stroke (age 40+); total respiratory morbidity (TRM, all ages). Using logistic regression, predictors of diabetes (2004/05-2006/07) and diabetes-related lower-limb amputations (2002/03-2006/07) were analyzed.ResultsDisease rates were higher for Métis compared to all others: premature mortality before age 75 (4.0 vs. 3.3 per 1000, p < .001); total mortality (9.7 vs. 8.4 per 1000, p < .001); injury mortality (0.58 vs. 0.51 per 1000, p < .03); Potential Years of Life Lost (64.6 vs. 54.6 per 1000, p < .001); all-cause 5-year mortality for people with diabetes (20.8% vs. 18.6%, p < .02); hypertension (27.9% vs. 24.8%, p < .001); arthritis (24.2% vs. 19.9%, p < .001), TRM (13.6% vs. 10.6%, p < .001); diabetes (11.8% vs. 8.8%, p < .001); diabetes-related lower limb amputation (24.1 vs. 16.2 per 1000, p < .001); ischemic heart disease (12.2% vs. 8.7%, p < .001); osteoporosis (12.2% vs. 12.3%, NS), dialysis initiation (0.46% vs. 0.34%, p < .001); AMI (5.4 vs. 4.3 per 1000, p < .001); stroke (3.6 vs. 2.9 per 1000, p < .001). Controlling for geography, age, sex, income, continuity of care and comorbidities, Métis were more likely to have diabetes (aOR = 1.29, 95% CI 1.25-1.34), but not diabetes-related lower limb amputation (aOR = 1.13, 95% CI 0.90-1.40, NS). Continuity of care was associated with decreased risk of amputation both provincially (aOR = 0.71, 95% CI 0.62-0.81) and for Métis alone (aOR = 0.62, 95% CI 0.40-0.96).ConclusionDespite universal healthcare, Métis' illness and mortality rates are mostly higher. Although elevated diabetes risk persists for the Métis even after adjusting for sociodemographic, healthcare and comorbidity variables, the risk of amputation for Métis appears more related to healthcare access rather than ethnicity.

Genetic analysis of the SNP forID 34-plex ancestry informative SNP panel in Tunisian and Libyan populations

A total of 149 unrelated and healthy individuals comprising: Tunisian Berbers, Tunisians with Andalusian origin and Libyans were typed with the SNP forID 34-plex ancestry informative marker (AIM) SNP panel. Results of 31 of the 34 SNPs are presented and no deviations from Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium were observed after Bonferroni correction ( p = 0.00161) except rs722098 ( p = 0.0000). Comparisons of allele frequencies showed high divergence values between North Africans and Europeans ( δ > 30%) in markers: rs4540055 (allele A) and rs16891982. Our study adds data that can be used as training set genotypes for future ancestry investigations in forensic cases and suggests these AIM-SNPs can successfully differentiate North Africans and Mediterranean Europeans.

Tragedy, Farce or Legal Mobilization? The Danish Cartoons in Court in France and Canada

Why would anyone prosecute the Danish Cartoons? Even as North Americans and Europeans debated whether the cartoons should have been commissioned by the Jyllands Posten or republished elsewhere, most agreed that prosecutions were totally out of line in a liberal Western state. And, yet, there were prosecutions in both France and Canada. While each prosecution ultimately failed from a legal perspective, both cases also operated on the level of symbolic politics. Here the results were mixed. While the Muslim groups that sued Charlie Hebdo won a partial victory when a French court conceded that the turban cartoon was, standing alone, offensive to Muslims, the Canadian Human Rights prosecution against Ezra Levant ended with the entire system of human rights proceedings on trial. This paper tells the story of these two cases.

Eye color Predicts Disagreeableness in North Europeans: Support in Favor of Frost (2006)

The current study investigates whether eye color provides a marker of Agreeableness in North Europeans. Extrapolating from Frost’s (2006) research uncovering an unusually diverse range of hair and eye color in northern Europe, we tested the hypothesis that light eyed individuals of North European descent would be less agreeable (a personality marker for competitiveness) when compared to their dark eyed counterparts, whereas there would be no such effect for people of European descent in general. The hypothesis was tested in Australia to provide consistent environmental conditions for both groups of people. Results support the hypothesis. Implications and conclusions are discussed.

Micol Seigel . Uneven Encounters: Making Race and Nation in Brazil and the United States.(American Encounters/Global Interactions.)Durham, N.C. : Duke University Press . 2009 . Pp. xxii, 386. Cloth $89.95, paper $24.95.

Carmen Miranda and barely clad mulata women dancing samba are among the varied stereotypical images of Brazil that have circulated internationally in the twentieth century. A parallel foreign fascination has focused on Brazil's racial configurations, as historians, social scientists, and journalists have visited the continent-sized country to decipher its understandings of racial categories, identities, hierarchies, and discrimination. Numerous scholars have written comparative studies of how these racial systems operate differently in Brazil and the United States. Most of these analyses argue for the existence of alleged all-encompassing, nationally bound social and cultural configurations of skin color and their relationship to class, status, and people of mixed races. In embarking on a self-described transnational history of interactions among North Americans, Brazilians, and Europeans that rejects this comparative methodology, Micol Seigel seeks to uncover the complex webs of interchange that were spun in the 1920s as Afro-Brazilians sought to occupy larger political, cultural, and social spaces in the decades after abolition. As the title of this broadly conceptualized study proclaims, power relationships framed these exchanges, placing Brazilians, and particularly Afro-Brazilians, on an unequal playing field with those with whom they interacted at home and abroad.

Lycopene: chemistry, biology, and implications for human health and disease.

A diet rich in carotenoid-containing foods is associated with a number of health benefits. Lycopene provides the familiar red color to tomato products and is one of the major carotenoids in the diet of North Americans and Europeans. Interest in lycopene is growing rapidly following the recent publication of epidemiologic studies implicating lycopene in the prevention of cardiovascular disease and cancers of the prostate or gastrointestinal tract. Lycopene has unique structural and chemical features that may contribute to specific biological properties. Data concerning lycopene bioavailability, tissue distribution, metabolism, excretion, and biological actions in experimental animals and humans are beginning to accumulate although much additional research is necessary. This review will summarize our knowledge in these areas as well as the associations between lycopene consumption and human health.

Beyond duplicity and ignorance in global fisheries

The three decades following World War II were a period of rapidly increasing fishing effort and landings, but also of spectacular collapses, particularly in small pelagic fish stocks. This is also the period in which a toxic triad of catch underreporting, ignoring scientific advice and blaming the environment emerged as standard response to ongoing fisheries collapses, which became increasingly more frequent, finally engulfing major North Atlantic fisheries. The response to the depletion of traditional fishing grounds was an expansion of North Atlantic (and generally of northern hemisphere) fisheries in three dimensions: southward, into deeper waters and into new taxa, i.e. catching and marketing species of fish and invertebrates previously spurned, and usually lower in the food web. This expansion provided many opportunities for mischief, as illustrated by the European Union’s negotiated ‘agreements’ for access to the fish resources of Northwest Africa, China’s agreement-fee exploitation of the same, and Japan blaming the resulting resource declines on the whales. Also, this expansion provided new opportunities for mislabelling seafood unfamiliar to North Americans and Europeans, and misleading consumers, thus reducing the impact of seafood guides and similar effort toward sustainability. With fisheries catches declining, aquaculture—despite all public relation efforts—not being able to pick up the slack, and rapidly increasing fuel prices, structural changes are to be expected in both the fishing industry and the scientific disciplines that study it and influence its governance. Notably, fisheries biology, now predominantly concerned with the welfare of the fishing industry, will have to be converted into fisheries conservation science, whose goal will be to resolve the toxic triad alluded to above, and thus maintain the marine biodiversity and ecosystems that provide existential services to fisheries. Similarly, fisheries economists will have to get past their obsession with privatising fisheries resources, as their stated goal of providing the proper incentives to fishers can be achieved without giving away what are, after all, public resources. Overall, the crisis that fisheries are now going through can be seen as an opportunity to renew both their structure—away from fuel-intensive large-scale fisheries—and their governance, and to renew the disciplines which study fisheries, creating a fisheries conservation science in the process. Its greatest achievement will be the creation of a global network of Marine Protected Areas, which, as anticipated by Ramon Margalef, is the way to make controlled exploitation compatible with the continued existence of functioning marine ecosystems.

Minisatellite MS32 Alleles Show Population Specificity Among Thai, Chinese, and Japanese

Lineages of structurally related alleles at minisatellite MS32 in human populations show considerable differentiation at the continental level. However, the regional specificity of these lineages remains unknown. We now describe the comparison of allele structures in Thai, Han Chinese, and Japanese populations with lineages previously established for North Europeans and Africans. The great majority of alignable Asian alleles showed their closest structural relative in Asia, with few instances of preferential alignment of Asian with European alleles and only one isolated incident showing a best match with an African allele. Further, there was a strong tendency, most marked for Japanese, for Asian alleles to align preferentially with other alleles from the same population, indicating strong regional specificity of allele lineages. This rapidly evolving minisatellite can therefore serve as a lineage marker for exploring recent events in human population history and dissecting population structure at the fine-scale level, as well as being an extremely informative DNA marker for personal identification.

OPEN ACCESS, NODAL POINTS, AND CENTRAL PLACES. Maritime communication and locational principles for coastal sites in south Scandinavia, c. AD 400–1200

Introduction The sea was treasured by Late Iron Age and Early Medieval Scandinavians for many reasons. In addition to supplying fishery and other coastal resources, it was the principal conduit of regional and long-distance communication. Through the period c. AD 400-1200 various sites emerge or disappear as centres of communication and exchange. The fate of individual sites is often explained as an effect of the changing fortunes of political centres. Communication, however, is a reality of its own. This paper argues that over the centuries, the choice of location for sites concerned with long-distance traffic follows a pattern, which is closely related to changing modes of communication and social relations, rather than mere political shifts. Analysing the location of three evidently important sites, it asks what form of communication made just these positions particularly attractive at a particular period of time. Coastal settlements In recent years, many investigations have shown that settlements at the coast became common in south Scandinavia in the middle of the first millennium AD (Fig. 1). Well-studied examples include Selso--Vestby in Roskilde Fjord and Vester Egesborg in southern Zealand (Ulriksen 1998; 2006), Strandby Gammeltoft in south-west Fyn (Henriksen 1997) and Naes in southern Zealand (Christensen 2006). Comparable sites are also known from earlier excavations (e.g. Stromberg 1978), and from investigations in other parts of south Scandinavia (Carlsson 1991; Callmer 1994; Birkedahl & Johansen 2000; Dobat 2005; Ulriksen 2006). The coastal sites are often characterized by large numbers of sunken-featured buildings, rather than the large multi-purpose longhouses of agrarian villages in the inland. The find-material is marked out, unsurprisingly, by tools for fishing, boat-repair and other maritime activities, and sometimes by a more varied assemblage related to crafts and exchange. Sailing, exchange and communication are the main issues discussed in connection with these sites. But the coast held many other attractions. Among the many sites located on the coast, several were not concerned with trade or travel, but with a basic economy of fishing or grazing in the coastal meadows. [FIGURE 1 OMITTED] The most common maritime activity was undoubtedly fishing. Judging by the species identified in bone-samples from many sites, Viking Age North Europeans were not yet accustomed to deep-sea fishing (cf. Barrett et al. 2004). Rather, fishing took place on shallow water near the coast. Albeit a maritime activity, it scarcely implied navigation beyond the local surroundings, and did not in itself lead to more distant communication. The forests and meadows of the coastal forelands were another valuable resource, certainly exploited for permanent or seasonal grassing. Whether the herds were sent out from nearby villages or belonged to separate communities, the groups settled here had very different needs than people in inland villages. Settled perhaps only seasonally at the sea, and with no need to stall cattle, as farmers did to collect manure for their fields, people lived mainly in the lightly built, easily heated sunken-featured huts. As the sunken-featured buildings preserve more varied finds than ploughed-out sites with post-built houses, we might be led to consider such coastal sites as more significant than they really were. The majority of coastal sites, then, belonged to fishers and herdsmen, rather than sailors and merchants. They were essentially rural sites in a maritime setting, located to take advantage of resources in the immediate environment of the site, either on land or in the waters just beyond. The problem of 'central places' A fishing community may use their location and facilities to engage in contacts by sea. But only a small group of sites in south Scandinavia appear to have fulfilled a more specific function in maritime communication. …

Geographic Differences in Clinical Presentation, Treatment, and Outcomes in Type A Acute Aortic Dissection (from the International Registry of Acute Aortic Dissection)

Although several studies have provided robust evidence about global differences for several cardiovascular emergencies, such as myocardial infarction and stroke, data were limited for aortic disease. The aim was to explore geographic variation in type A acute aortic dissection (TA-AAD) in a large group of consecutive patients. Patients (n = 615) from the IRAD with TA-AAD were studied with respect to presenting symptoms and signs, diagnosis, management, and outcomes in Europe versus North America. Compared with Europeans, North Americans were more likely to be older and present with atypical features and without many of the classic chest X-ray findings of AAD. In the North American cohort, electrocardiographic findings showed higher rates of nonspecific ST changes and a trend toward ST-elevation or new myocardial infarction (North Americans vs Europeans 7.9% vs 4.4%; p = 0.09). Use of imaging studies to confirm the diagnosis of AAD varied between North American and European centers. North American centers performed an average of 1.6 imaging studies compared with 1.8 in the European group (p = 0.002). Furthermore, they were significantly less likely to use computed tomography and significantly more likely to use transesophageal examination as part of the overall diagnostic algorithm. Compared with Europeans, TA-AAD occurred at smaller aortic diameters and there was a substantial delay to presentation and diagnosis in North Americans. No significant differences for early mortality rates were observed between the 2 groups. In conclusion, geographic differences in presentation and initial management were highlighted, but this did not translate into a difference in early mortality.