Holter Recordings at Initial Assessment for Long QT Syndrome: Relationship to Genotype Status and Cardiac Events.

Background: The relationship of Holter recordings of repolarization length to outcome in long QT syndrome (LQTS) is unknown. Methods: Holter recordings and initial 12 lead ECG QTc were related to outcome in 101 individuals with LQTS and 28 gene-negative relatives. Mean QTc (mQTc) and mean RTPc (R-wave to peak T-wave, mRTPc) using Bazett correction were measured, analyzing heart rates 40 to 120 bpm.

Normative Heart-Rate Corrected Values for Repolarisation Length From Holter Recordings in Children and Adults.

Background: Normative values for heart-rate corrected repolarisation length are not available in children and are scarce in adults. We wished to define repeatability and normative values of Holter recording measurements of repolarisation length in healthy individuals using a commercially available system, and compare measurements with those from 12-lead electrocardiograms (ECGs).

Methods: Twenty-four-hour (24-) Holter recordings were made on 99 Healthy volunteers: 52 children (7 months to 14 years) and 47 adults (≥15 yrs).

Preliminary description of aging cats and dogs presented to a New Zealand first-opinion veterinary clinic at end-of-life.

AIMS To conduct a preliminary investigation into the chronic disease conditions and clinical signs present in aging New Zealand companion animals at end-of-life and to describe the timing, circumstances, and manner of death. METHODS The medical records database of a first-opinion, companion animal, veterinary practice in Auckland, New Zealand was searched to identify all canine and feline patients ≥7 years of age that were subjected to euthanasia or cremated in the period between July 2012-June 2014. The free-text medical notes were analysed for information on the circumstances surrounding the death, previous diagnoses of chronic disease conditions, and the presence of clinical signs associated with decreased quality-of-life at the time of euthanasia.

Carrot yellow leaf virus is associated with carrot internal necrosis.

Internal necrosis of carrot has been observed in UK carrots for at least 10 years, and has been anecdotally linked to virus infection. In the 2009 growing season some growers had up to 10% of yield with these symptoms. Traditional diagnostic methods are targeted towards specific pathogens.

Iron, folate, and vitamin B12 status in the elderly by gender and ethnicity.

Objective: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2001-2002 data were used to examine gender and ethnicity relationships to iron, folate, and vitamin B12 status, and anemia in 1770 elderly persons.

Methods: Dependent variables included dietary intakes and biochemical measures of iron, folate, and vitamin B12 status, and hemoglobin. T Tests were performed using SUDAAN software (version 9.

Together and apart: twin beds, domestic hygiene and modern marriage, 1890-1945.

This article examines the advent of twin beds as a common sleeping arrangement for English couples. Through an analysis of a range of sources from the late nineteenth to mid twentieth centuries - marketing materials, advertisements, domestic, decorative and marital advice books and novels and films - it argues that while twin beds were initially recommended by proponents of the domestic sanitation movement as part of a raft of hygiene measures, by the 1920s they had become a fashionable item of bedroom furniture for modern couples in "companionate" marriages. It was in this context that Marie Stopes, in her popular marital advice books, railed against them as an "invention of the devil", symptomatic of the evils of modernity, and endangering the happiness of the modern married couple.

Essential function of alpha-calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II in neurotransmitter release at a glutamatergic central synapse.

A significant fraction of the total calciumcalmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) activity in neurons is associated with synaptic connections and is present in nerve terminals, thus suggesting a role for CaMKII in neurotransmitter release. To determine whether CaMKII regulates neurotransmitter release, we generated and analyzed knockout mice in which the dominant alpha-isoform of CaMKII was specifically deleted from the presynaptic side of the CA3-CA1 hippocampal synapse. Conditional CA3 alpha-CaMKII knockout mice exhibited an unchanged basal probability of neurotransmitter release at CA3-CA1 synapses but showed a significant enhancement in the activity-dependent increase in probability of release during repetitive presynaptic stimulation, as was shown with the analysis of unitary synaptic currents.

Motoneuron-specific expression of NR3B, a novel NMDA-type glutamate receptor subunit that works in a dominant-negative manner.

We have identified a novel glutamate receptor subunit on the human and mouse genome. Cloning of the mouse cDNA revealed a protein consisting of 1003 amino acids encoded by at least nine exons. This protein showed the highest similarity (51%) to the NR3A subunit of the NMDA receptor and therefore was termed NR3B.

CA1 long-term potentiation is diminished but present in hippocampal slices from alpha-CaMKII mutant mice.

Previous work has shown that mice missing the alpha-isoform of calcium-calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (alpha-CaMKII) have a deficiency in CA1 hippocampal long-term potentiation (LTP). Follow-up studies on subsequent generations of these mutant mice in a novel inbred background by our laboratories have shown that whereas a deficiency in CA1 LTP is still present in alpha-CaMKII mutant mice, it is different both quantitatively and qualitatively from the deficiency first described. Mice of a mixed 129SvOla/SvJ;BALB/c;C57B1/6 background derived from brother/sister mating of the alpha-CaMKII mutant line through multiple generations (>10) were produced by use of in vitro fertilization.

How you know when you're stressed: self-evaluations of stress.

One hundred participants were asked to list 5 cues that they use to determine their level of stress. The responses were tabulated, and the 25 most frequent responses were retained for further analyses. A sorting task was used to assess the relationships among cues, and a similarity matrix was developed from the responses.

Tissue specific expression of FMR-1 provides evidence for a functional role in fragile X syndrome.

We have performed mRNA in situ hybridization studies and northern blot analysis in the mouse and human, respectively, to determine the normal gene expression patterns of FMR-1. Expression in the adult mouse was localized to several regions of the brain and the tubules of the testes, which are two of the major organs affected in fragile X syndrome. Universal and very strong expression was observed in early mouse embryos, with differentially decreasing expression during subsequent stages of embryonic development.

Carrier detection in X-linked immunodeficiencies. II: An X inactivation assay based on differential methylation of a line-1 repeat at the DXS255 locus.

The differential methylation of a CpG island 2.5 kb distant from a hypervariable region at the DXS255 locus provides the basis for a Southern blotting X chromosome inactivation analysis system. The technique enables carrier detection in about 90% of females at risk from pedigrees with Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome, X-linked severe combined immunodeficiency or X-linked agammaglobulinemia.

Carrier detection in X-linked immunodeficiencies. I: A PCR-based X chromosome inactivation assay at the MAOA locus.

We developed an X chromosome inactivation PCR assay, based on differential methylation of the 5' CpG island of the monoamine oxidase A gene (MAOA), close to a highly polymorphic region just downstream of the first exon. The assay provides a method to determine the carrier status of females from pedigrees with X-linked immunodeficiency diseases (XLID).

The hypervariable DXS255 locus contains a LINE-1 repetitive element with a CpG island that is extensively methylated only on the active X chromosome.

The DXS255 locus at Xp11.22 is highly polymorphic due to a 26-bp variable number of tandem repeats (VNTR) motif. In previous studies, one of the MspI sites flanking the VNTR manifested a correlation between methylation and X chromosome inactivation.

Characterization of a highly polymorphic region near the first exon of the human MAOA gene containing a GT dinucleotide and a novel VNTR motif.

The genes encoding the A and B forms of the human monoamine oxidase enzymes (MAOA and MAOB) are localized at Xp11.23-Xp11.4.

An X chromosome inactivation assay based on differential methylation of a CpG island coupled to a VNTR polymorphism at the 5' end of the monoamine oxidase A gene.

A CpG island has been identified just upstream of the first exon of the human monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) gene, localized to Xp11.4-Xp11.23.

Clonal analysis of human tumors with M27 beta, a highly informative polymorphic X chromosomal probe.

The clonality of human tumors can be studied by X inactivation/methylation analysis in female patients heterozygous for X-linked DNA polymorphisms. We present a detailed study on clonal tumor analysis with M27 beta, a highly informative probe detecting a polymorphic X chromosomal locus, DXS255. The polymorphism detected at this locus is due to variable numbers of tandem repeats.

Rural volunteer ombudsman programs.

We examine benefits and difficulties surrounding the effective implementation of a long-term care volunteer ombudsman program in a rural setting. Discussion focuses on the uniqueness of each rural community and potential strategies that can be mixed and matched to meet individual community needs. We consider implications for the development and implementation of ombudsman programs in rural areas.