A922 Sequential measurement of 1 hour creatinine clearance (1-CRCL) in critically ill patients at risk of acute kidney injury (AKI)

Meeting abstrac

The spatial structure of lithic landscapes : the late holocene record of east-central Argentina as a case study

Fil: Barrientos, Gustavo. División Antropología. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Universidad Nacional de La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Catella, Luciana. División Arqueología. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Universidad Nacional de La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Oliva, Fernando. Centro Estudios Arqueológicos Regionales. Facultad de Humanidades y Artes. Universidad Nacional de Rosario; Argentin

Whole-Exome Sequencing and Homozygosity Analysis Implicate Depolarization-Regulated Neuronal Genes in Autism

Although autism has a clear genetic component, the high genetic heterogeneity of the disorder has been a challenge for the identification of causative genes. We used homozygosity analysis to identify probands from nonconsanguineous families that showed evidence of distant shared ancestry, suggesting potentially recessive mutations. Whole-exome sequencing of 16 probands revealed validated homozygous, potentially pathogenic recessive mutations that segregated perfectly with disease in 4/16 families. The candidate genes (UBE3B, CLTCL1, NCKAP5L, ZNF18) encode proteins involved in proteolysis, GTPase-mediated signaling, cytoskeletal organization, and other pathways. Furthermore, neuronal depolarization regulated the transcription of these genes, suggesting potential activity-dependent roles in neurons. We present a multidimensional strategy for filtering whole-exome sequence data to find candidate recessive mutations in autism, which may have broader applicability to other complex, heterogeneous disorders

Analysis of Adhesion Molecules and Basement Membrane Contributions to Synaptic Adhesion at the Drosophila Embryonic NMJ

Synapse formation and maintenance crucially underlie brain function in health and disease. Both processes are believed to depend on cell adhesion molecules (CAMs). Many different classes of CAMs localise to synapses, including cadherins, protocadherins, neuroligins, neurexins, integrins, and immunoglobulin adhesion proteins, and further contributions come from the extracellular matrix and its receptors. Most of these factors have been scrutinised by loss-of-function analyses in animal models. However, which adhesion factors establish the essential physical links across synaptic clefts and allow the assembly of synaptic machineries at the contact site in vivo is still unclear. To investigate these key questions, we have used the neuromuscular junction (NMJ) of Drosophila embryos as a genetically amenable model synapse. Our ultrastructural analyses of NMJs lacking different classes of CAMs revealed that loss of all neurexins, all classical cadherins or all glutamate receptors, as well as combinations between these or with a Laminin deficiency, failed to reveal structural phenotypes. These results are compatible with a view that these CAMs might have no structural role at this model synapse. However, we consider it far more likely that they operate in a redundant or well buffered context. We propose a model based on a multi-adaptor principle to explain this phenomenon. Furthermore, we report a new CAM-independent adhesion mechanism that involves the basement membranes (BM) covering neuromuscular terminals. Thus, motorneuronal terminals show strong partial detachment of the junction when BM-to-cell surface attachment is impaired by removing Laminin A, or when BMs lose their structural integrity upon loss of type IV collagens. We conclude that BMs are essential to tie embryonic motorneuronal terminals to the muscle surface, lending CAM-independent structural support to their adhesion. Therefore, future developmental studies of these synaptic junctions in Drosophila need to consider the important contribution made by BM-dependent mechanisms, in addition to CAM-dependent adhesion

Effect of parity on oestrus synchronization success in cows

The objective of the present study wits to evaluate the effect of parity on pregnancy rate in lactating Holstein cows Subjected to different synchronization protocols. A total of 96 cows (49 primiparous and 47 multiparous) were allocated randomly into four groups containing primiparous and multiparous COWS. In the PRID group (n=23), progesterone releasing intravaginal device (PRID) was inserted into anterior vagina of the cows. The devices Were removed 12 days later and 500 mu g of cloprostenol was intramuscularly administered the day before PRID withdrawal. In the Implant group (n=25), ear implants releasing norgestomet were Subcutaneously g inserted in the Car of each cow for 9 days and 500 mu g of cloprostenol was intramuscularly administered the day before the implant removal. In the GnRH group (n=24), buserelin, a GnRH analogue 10 mu g was given oil day 0 followed by the administration of 500 mu g of cloprostenol, 7 days later. In the PGF(2 alpha) group (n=24), two intramuscular administrations of 500 mu g of cloprostenol were performed at an 11-day interval. All cows exhibited oestrus signs between 36 and 124 h after the last PGF(2 alpha) administration

The Long-term Effect of Marketing on Brand Sales

Few studies have considered the relative role of the integrated marketing mix (advertising, price promotion, product, and place) on the long-term performance of mature brands, instead emphasizing advertising and price promotion. Thus, little guidance is available to firms regarding the relative efficacy of their various marketing expenditures over the long run. To investigate this issue, the authors apply a multivariate dynamic linear transfer function model to five years of advertising and scanner data for 25 product categories and 70 brands in France. The findings indicate that the total (short-term plus long-term) sales elasticity is 1.37 for product and .74 for distribution. Conversely, the total elasticities for advertising and discounting are only .13 and .04, respectively. This result stands in marked contrast to the previous emphasis in the literature on price promotions and advertising. The authors further find that the long-term effects of discounting are one-third the magnitude of the short-term effects. The ratio is reversed from other aspects of the mix (in which long-term effects exceed four times the short-term effects), underscoring the strategic role of these tools in brand sales