Evidence of determinate growth in an American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) based on long-term recapture and osteohistological confirmation.

Despite the general perception that crocodilians exhibit indeterminate growth, recent long-term field studies and laboratory investigations have independently suggested that growth in these animals is determinate. In this study, we had the unique opportunity to examine skeletal growth in a wild adult American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) based on change in body length measurements (snout-vent length) in the field and confirm these findings using osteohistological analyses (presence/absence of an external fundamental system [EFS]) of long bones. The alligator was captured and measured five times over 7 years and exhibited no discernable growth during that period, suggesting skeletal maturity had been attained at or prior to its first capture.

Neural correlates of infant action processing relate to theory of mind in early childhood.

The mechanisms that support infant action processing are thought to be involved in the development of later social cognition. While a growing body of research demonstrates longitudinal links between action processing and explicit theory of mind (TOM), it remains unclear why this link emerges in some measures of action encoding and not others. In this paper, we recruit neural measures as a unique lens into which aspects of human infant action processing (i.

Antibiotic treatment triggers gut dysbiosis and modulates metabolism in a chicken model of gastro-intestinal infection.

Background: Infection of the digestive track by gastro-intestinal pathogens results in the development of symptoms ranging from mild diarrhea to more severe clinical signs such as dysentery, severe dehydration and potentially death. Although, antibiotics are efficient to tackle infections, they also trigger dysbiosis that has been suggested to result in variation in weight gain in animal production systems.

Results: Here is the first study demonstrating the metabolic impact of infection by a gastro-intestinal pathogen (Brachyspira pilosicoli) and its resolution by antibiotic treatment (tiamulin) on the host (chicken) systemic metabolism and gut microbiota composition using high-resolution H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and 16S rDNA next generation sequencing (NGS).

Systematic identification of genetic influences on methylation across the human life course.

Background: The influence of genetic variation on complex diseases is potentially mediated through a range of highly dynamic epigenetic processes exhibiting temporal variation during development and later life. Here we present a catalogue of the genetic influences on DNA methylation (methylation quantitative trait loci (mQTL)) at five different life stages in human blood: children at birth, childhood, adolescence and their mothers during pregnancy and middle age.

Results: We show that genetic effects on methylation are highly stable across the life course and that developmental change in the genetic contribution to variation in methylation occurs primarily through increases in environmental or stochastic effects.

Utility and validity of estimated GFR-based surrogate time-to-event end points in CKD: a simulation study.

Background: There is interest in surrogate end points for clinical trials of chronic kidney disease progression because currently established end points-end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and doubling of serum creatinine level-are late events, requiring large clinical trials with long follow-up. Doubling of serum creatinine level is equivalent to a 57% decline in estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). We evaluated type 1 error and required sample size for clinical trials using surrogate end points based on lesser eGFR declines.

The accidental transgressor: morally-relevant theory of mind.

To test young children's false belief theory of mind in a morally relevant context, two experiments were conducted. In Experiment 1, children (N = 162) at 3.5, 5.

Correspondences between theory of mind, jumping to conclusions, neuropsychological measures and the symptoms of schizophrenia.

Tasks measuring reasoning biases and social cognition were originally applied to the study of schizophrenia in order to shed light on the cognitive underpinnings of positive symptoms. However, the empirical evidence for overlap between these tasks, and their association with positive symptoms, remains preliminary. In the current study we explore these associations using multivariate methodology, with primary interest in two commonly studied paradigms: jumping to conclusions (JTC) and theory of mind (ToM).

A review of the effects of martial arts practice on health.

Martial arts are ancient forms of combat, modified for modern sport and exercise. Participation in the martial arts is increasing, particularly for youth. Martial arts provide health-promoting and meaningful exercise for millions of practitioners.

Cardiac cholinergic NO-cGMP signaling following acute myocardial infarction and nNOS gene transfer.

Myocardial infarction (MI) is associated with oxidative stress, which may cause cardiac autonomic impairment. We tested the hypothesis that acute MI disrupts cardiac cholinergic signaling by impairing nitric oxide (NO)-cGMP modulation of acetylcholine (ACh) release and whether the restoration of this pathway following cardiac neuronal NO synthase (nNOS) gene transfer had any bearing on the neural phenotype. Guinea pigs underwent four ligature coronary artery surgery (n = 50) under general anesthesia to induce MI or sham surgery (n = 32).

Chimeric live, attenuated vaccine against Japanese encephalitis (ChimeriVax-JE): phase 2 clinical trials for safety and immunogenicity, effect of vaccine dose and schedule, and memory response to challenge with inactivated Japanese encephalitis antigen.

ChimeriVax-JE is a live, attenuated vaccine against Japanese encephalitis, using yellow fever (YF) 17D vaccine as a vector. In a double-blind phase 2 trial, 99 adults received vaccine, placebo, or YF 17D vaccine (YF-VAX). ChimeriVax-JE was well tolerated, with no differences in adverse events between treatment groups.