A trait dataset for freshwater mussels of the United States of America.

The United States of America has a diverse collection of freshwater mussels comprising 301 species distributed among 59 genera and two families (Margaritiferidae and Unionidae), each having a unique suite of traits. Mussels are among the most imperilled animals and are critical components of their ecosystems, and successful management, conservation and research requires a cohesive and widely accessible data source. Although trait-based analysis for mussels has increased, only a small proportion of traits reflecting mussel diversity in this region has been collated.

No net insect abundance and diversity declines across US Long Term Ecological Research sites.

Recent reports of dramatic declines in insect abundance suggest grave consequences for global ecosystems and human society. Most evidence comes from Europe, however, leaving uncertainty about insect population trends worldwide. We used >5,300 time series for insects and other arthropods, collected over 4-36 years at monitoring sites representing 68 different natural and managed areas, to search for evidence of declines across the United States.

Interaction with ectopic cochlear crista sensory epithelium disrupts basal cochlear sensory epithelium development in Lmx1a mutant mice.

The LIM homeodomain transcription factor Lmx1a shows a dynamic expression in the developing mouse ear that stabilizes in the non-sensory epithelium. Previous work showed that Lmx1a functional null mutants have an additional sensory hair cell patch in the posterior wall of a cochlear duct and have a mix of vestibular and cochlear hair cells in the basal cochlear sensory epithelium. In E13.

Organ of Corti and Stria Vascularis: Is there an Interdependence for Survival?

Cochlear hair cells and the stria vascularis are critical for normal hearing. Hair cells transduce mechanical stimuli into electrical signals, whereas the stria is responsible for generating the endocochlear potential (EP), which is the driving force for hair cell mechanotransduction. We questioned whether hair cells and the stria interdepend for survival by using two mouse models.

Lmx1a is required for segregation of sensory epithelia and normal ear histogenesis and morphogenesis.

At embryonic day 8.5, the LIM-homeodomain factor Lmx1a is expressed throughout the otic placode but becomes developmentally restricted to non-sensory epithelia of the ear (endolymphatic duct, ductus reuniens, cochlea lateral wall). We confirm here that the ears of newborn dreher (Lmx1a (dr)) mutants are dysmorphic.

Migratory routes and fates of cells transcribing the Wnt-1 gene in the murine hindbrain.

To investigate the origins, migrations, and fates of Wnt-1-expressing cells in the murine hindbrain, mice carrying a Wnt-1 enhancer/lacZ transgene were observed from embryonic day (E) 8 through postnatal day 18. The transgene-stained ventricular layer waxed and waned prior to and following migrations from it. Stained cells migrated first external to the hindbrain as neural crest and then within it to form typical populations of the rhombic lip, as well as others not recognized as lip derivatives.

Atoh1 null mice show directed afferent fiber growth to undifferentiated ear sensory epithelia followed by incomplete fiber retention.

Inner ear hair cells have been suggested as attractors for growing afferent fibers, possibly through the release of the neurotrophin brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). Atoh1 null mice never fully differentiate hair cells and supporting cells and, therefore, may show aberrations in the growth and/or retention of their innervation. We investigated the distribution of cells positive for Atoh1- or Bdnf-mediated beta-galactosidase expression in Atoh1 null and Atoh1 heterozygotic mice and correlated the distribution of these cells with their innervation.

Partial behavioral compensation is revealed in balance tasked mutant mice lacking otoconia.

We describe for the first time behavioral tests which show that mammals with congenital absence of otoconia can learn a motor task that normally relies on gravity perception. The mouse mutation tilted (tlt) occurs in the otopetrin 1 gene (Otop1(tlt/tlt)) and eliminates an essential component necessary for the formation of otoconia. Our data show that even in the absence of otoconia, tlt mutant mice, like normal mice, learn to cross a bar suspended between two boxes and, with practice, improve their speed of crossing.

A time for change: for the road to excellence for health care professionals.

This article addresses the changes affecting all of health care. Change should first be driven by data--data are what will be used to make clinical and business decisions that will result in better quality care. Employees should be held accountable for results, and celebrations should be provided for these changes.

Exercise during hemodialysis decreases the use of antihypertensive medications.

Most hemodialysis patients require antihypertensive therapy. Aerobic exercise has been suggested as a nonpharmacologic treatment for hypertension in many patient populations, including those with chronic renal failure. To test the effectiveness of this therapy in an outpatient long-term hemodialysis clinic, the hemodialysis staff instituted a stationary cycling program during dialysis and offered the program to all patients (n = 107).

The Noble-Mengert-Fish operation-revisited: a composite approach for persistent rectovaginal fistulas and complex perineal defects.

Objective: Our aims were to evaluate the full-thickness anterior rectal wall advancement flap in the treatment of primary and recurrent or persistent rectovaginal fistulas, evaluate the surgical exposure for composite repair of site-specific perineal defects, and categorize clinical manifestations of site-specific perineal defects caused by obstetric injury.

Study Design: This is a prospective study of all patients with fecal incontinence from rectovaginal septal defects and complex perineal obstetric injuries treated by the Noble-Mengert-Fish operation.

Results: Thirty-four patients were classified into groups on the basis of site-specific perineal defects.

Peptides bind to eosinophils in the rat stomach.

Background: An immunological role for eosinophils has been well established. However, roles for eosinophils in the physiological functions of the organs they populate are little explored.

Methods: Fixed, frozen, then vibratomed sections of rat stomach were exposed to biotinylated 1-17 gastrin (bG17), biotinylated gastrin-releasing peptide (bGRP), biotinylated neuromedin C (bNC), biotinylated vasoactive intestinal peptide (bVIP), and biotinylated substance P (bSP).

The incidence of low-pressure urethra as a function of prolapse-reducing technique in patients with massive pelvic organ prolapse (maximum descent at all vaginal sites).

Objective: Our aims were to compare several prolapse-reducing techniques during urodynamic evaluation and prospectively evaluate their usefulness in identifying the incidence of low urethral closure pressure in continent patients with massive prolapse.

Study Design: This preoperative, prospective, repeated-measures urodynamic study evaluated the maximum urethral closure pressure with the use of four different techniques in 30 consecutive continent patients with grade 4 prolapse at all vaginal sites. Twenty patients with grade 0 prolapse served as the control group.

The Vecchietti operation for constructing a neovagina: indications, instrumentation, and techniques.

The Vecchietti method is a surgical technique for the treatment of vaginal agenesis that constructs a dilation-type neovagina in 7-9 days. We have performed the Vecchietti operation on six patients. The method was applied to create a primary neovagina, to lengthen a surgically foreshortened vagina, and to reconstruct an obliterated neovagina with or without the presence of a uterus.

The development of vestibulocochlear efferents and cochlear afferents in mice.

We have reinvestigated the embryonic development of the vestibulocochlear system in mice using anterograde and retrograde tracing techniques. Our studies reveal that rhombomeres 4 and 5 include five motor neuron populations. One of these, the abducens nucleus, will not be dealt with here.

Ligature carrier specifically designed for transvaginal sacrospinous colpopexy.

A new ligature carrier designed for sacrospinous colpopexy permits bite acquisition to be performed under direct surgical visualization within the confines of the pararectal space. In addition, it permits ample penetration of the sacrospinous ligament through the coccygeus muscle, without restriction of suture type, size, or number of sutures per bite. As part of site-specific reconstructive pelvic surgery, we have performed sacrospinous colpopexy using this ligature carrier in 71 patients with genital prolapse.

Development of midbrain and anterior hindbrain ocular motoneurons in normal and Wnt-1 knockout mice.

The effect of homozygotic Wnt-1-/- mutations on the development of ocular motoneurons was examined with the lipophilic dye DiI and compared to control and phenotypic wild-type mouse embryos. A piece of DiI-soaked filter paper was inserted into the orbit, the midbrain, or rhombomere 5 of the hindbrain in six paraformaldehyde-fixed litters (10.5, 12.

Carboxyfluorescein and biotin neuromedin C analogues: synthesis and applications.

Two neuromedin C (NC) analogues were constructed by Fmoc synthesis and in situ coupling of 4(5)-carboxyfluorescein or biotin to the N-terminus. Both displayed full agonism in an amylase release assay and cross-reacted fully with a NC-specific antiserum. Biotin NC functioned in a streptavidin-capture ELISA.

Fiber pathways and positional changes in efferent perikarya of 2.5- to 7-day chick embryos as revealed with DiI and dextran amines.

The differentiation of facial motoneurons and inner ear (octaval) efferents was examined in chicken embryos by applying DiI or dextran amines to the cut VII/VIII nerve (peripheral label) or to the basal/floor plate of rhombomeres 4/5 (central label). Central labeling found axons of these efferent neurons to leave the brain as early as 2.5 days of incubation.

Pelvic relaxation of the posterior compartment.

Relaxation of the posterior compartment may involve the upper, middle, and/or lower portion of the posterior vaginal wall and result in a variety of disorders including enterocele, rectocele, and perineal defects. When symptomatic, singly, or in combination with other abnormalities, they deserve full evaluation and surgical correction. Their management and technical considerations for repair and prevention of recurrence are outlined including fecal incontinence.