Solutions containing AlCl3 and Si(OH)4 (concentrations ≤ 1.5 mM with molar Si:Al ratios of 1:2, 1:1 and 3:1) and FeCl2 (0, 0.5 and 1.0 mM) were adjusted to pH 8 with Ca(OH)2, and incubated at 23°C and 89°C without exclusion of air in the presence of CaCO3 for 8–12 weeks. The products were characterized by infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. Systems with 3:1 and 1:1 Si:Al ratios without Fe gave hydrous feldspathoids at 23° and 89°C. Systems with 3:1 Si:Al ratios containing Fe gave aluminous nontronites at 89°C and noncrystalline, nontronite-like products at 23°C. Systems with 1:1 Si:Al ratios with added Fe gave Fe(III)-substituted hydrous feldspathoids at 23°C. At 89°C, the system with 1:1 Si:Al ratios and 0.5 mM Fe produced a “protohalloysite,” while that with 1.0 mM Fe gave a poorly ordered nontronite-like layer silicate. In systems with 1:2 Si:Al ratios, the formation of “protoimogolite” at 23°C was little affected by additions of Fe. At 89°C, the “protoimogolite” decomposed to boehmite and poorly-ordered layer silicate phases. Inclusion of 1 mM MgCl2 in the above systems had no effect on the products at 23°C, but at 89°C produced saponites and a mixed layer saponite-chlorite in the 3:1 Si:Al systems, and saponite-like layer structures in the 1:1 and 1:2 Si:Al systems.

Background: Poorly-defined cases (PDCs) of focal epilepsy are cases with no/subtle MRI abnormalities or have abnormalities extending beyond the lesion visible on MRI. Here, we evaluated the utility of Arterial Spin Labeling (ASL) MRI perfusion in PDCs of pediatric focal epilepsy. Methods: ASL MRI was obtained in 25 consecutive children presenting with poorly-defined focal epilepsy (20 MRI- positive, 5 MRI-negative). Qualitative visual inspection and quantitative analysis with asymmetry and Z-score maps were used to detect perfusion abnormalities. ASL results were compared to the hypothesized epileptogenic zone (EZ) derived from other clinical/imaging data and the resection zone in patients with Engel I/II outcome and >18 month follow-up. Results: Qualitative analysis revealed perfusion abnormalities in 17/25 total cases (68%), 17/20 MRI-positive cases (85%) and none of the MRI-negative cases. Quantitative analysis confirmed all cases with abnormalities on qualitative analysis, but found 1 additional true-positive and 4 false-positives. Concordance with the surgically-proven EZ was found in 10/11 cases qualitatively (sensitivity=91%, specificity=50%), and 11/11 cases quantitatively (sensitivity=100%, specificity=23%). Conclusions: ASL perfusion may support the hypothesized EZ, but has limited localization benefit in MRI-negative cases. Nevertheless, owing to its non-invasiveness and ease of acquisition, ASL could be a useful addition to the pre-surgical MRI evaluation of pediatric focal epilepsy.

Background: Poorly-defined cases (PDCs) of focal epilepsy are cases with no/subtle MRI abnormalities or have abnormalities extending beyond the lesion visible on MRI. Here, we evaluated the utility of Arterial Spin Labeling (ASL) MRI perfusion in PDCs of pediatric focal epilepsy. Methods: ASL MRI was obtained in 25 consecutive children presenting with poorly-defined focal epilepsy (20 MRI- positive, 5 MRI-negative). Qualitative visual inspection and quantitative analysis with asymmetry and Z-score maps were used to detect perfusion abnormalities. ASL results were compared to the hypothesized epileptogenic zone (EZ) derived from other clinical/imaging data and the resection zone in patients with Engel I/II outcome and >18 month follow-up. Results: Qualitative analysis revealed perfusion abnormalities in 17/25 total cases (68%), 17/20 MRI-positive cases (85%) and none of the MRI-negative cases. Quantitative analysis confirmed all cases with abnormalities on qualitative analysis, but found 1 additional true-positive and 4 false-positives. Concordance with the surgically-proven EZ was found in 10/11 cases qualitatively (sensitivity=91%, specificity=50%), and 11/11 cases quantitatively (sensitivity=100%, specificity=23%). Conclusions: ASL perfusion may support the hypothesized EZ, but has limited localization benefit in MRI-negative cases. Nevertheless, owing to its non-invasiveness and ease of acquisition, ASL could be a useful addition to the pre-surgical MRI evaluation of pediatric focal epilepsy.

Catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) has a central role in brain dopamine, noradrenalin and adrenalin signaling, and has been suggested to be involved in the pathogenesis and pharmacological treatment of affective disorders. The functional single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in exon 4 (Val158Met, rs4680) influences the COMT enzyme activity. The Val158Met polymorphism is a commonly studied variant in psychiatric genetics, and initial studies in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder presented evidence for association with the Met allele. In unipolar depression, while some of the investigations point at an association between the Met/Met genotype and others have found a link between the Val/Val genotype and depression, most of the studies cannot detect any difference in Val158Met allele frequency between depressed individuals and controls.

In the present study, we further elucidated the impact of COMT polymorphisms including the Val158Met in MDD. We investigated 1,250 subjects with DSM-IV and/or ICD-10 diagnosis of major depression (MDD), and 1,589 control subjects from UK. A total of 24 SNPs spanning the COMT gene were successfully genotyped using the Illumina HumaHap610-Quad Beadchip (22 SNPs), SNPlex™ genotyping system (1 SNP), and Sequenom MassARRAY® iPLEX Gold (1 SNP). Statistical analyses were implemented using PASW Statistics18, FINETTI (http://ihg.gsf.de/cgi-bin/hw/hwa1.pl), UNPHASED version 3.0.10 program and Haploview 4.0 program.

Neither single-marker nor haplotypic association was found with the functional Val158Met polymorphism or with any of the other SNPs genotyped. Our findings do not provide evidence that COMT plays a role in MDD or that this gene explains part of the genetic overlap with bipolar disorder.

According to Oedegaard et al. (2010) the co-morbidity of migraine and bipolar disorder (BPD) is well documented in numerous epidemiological and clinical studies, and there are clear pathophysiological similarities. Interestingly, in a genome-wide scan, Lea et al. (2005) identified a susceptibility locus for a severe heritable form of common migraine on chromosome 3q29. With respect to BPD, a susceptibility region on chromosome 3q29 was identified in a genome-wide linkage scan (Bailer et al. 2002) and follow-up linkage analysis (Schosser et al. 2004). These findings were also supported by further fine-mapping of this region (Schosser et al. 2007). Since 3q29 is among the chromosomal regions implicated in migraine and bipolar linkage studies, the aim of the current study is to test for 3q29 association of migraine in sample of patients with BPD. The sample consists of 463 patients with a diagnosis of BPD (34.63% men, 65.37% women; mean age ± SD: 48.01 ± 11.26), as defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual 4th edition operational criteria (DSM-IV) and the International Classification of Diseases 10th edition operational criteria (ICD-10), derived from the Bipolar Affective Disorder Case Control Study (BACCS). A total of 51 SNPs in the region of the 3q29 were genotyped using Sequenom MassARRAY® iPLEX Gold and tested for association with migraine. The results of this association study investigating the 3q29 region in a sample of patients with BPD will be presented.

Background: Focal cortical dysplasias (FCDs) are congenital structural abnormalities of the brain, and represent the most common cause of medication-resistant focal epilepsy in children and adults. Recent studies have shown that somatic mutations (i.e. mutations arising in the embryo) in mTOR pathway genes underlie some FCD cases. Specific therapies targeting the mTOR pathway are available. However, testing for somatic mTOR pathway mutations in FCD tissue is not performed on a clinical basis, and the contribution of such mutations to the pathogenesis of FCD remains unknown. Aim: To investigate the feasibility of screening for somatic mutations in resected FCD tissue and determine the proportion and spatial distribution of FCDs which are due to low-level somatic mTOR pathway mutations. Methods: We performed ultra-deep sequencing of 13 mTOR pathway genes using a custom HaloPlexHS target enrichment kit (Agilent Technologies) in 16 resected histologically-confirmed FCD specimens. Results: We identified causal variants in 62.5% (10/16) of patients at an alternate allele frequency of 0.75–33.7%. The spatial mutation frequency correlated with the FCD lesion’s size and severity. Conclusions: Screening FCD tissue using a custom panel results in a high yield, and should be considered clinically given the important potential implications regarding surgical resection, medical management and genetic counselling.

The Meat Standards Australia (MSA) grading scheme has the ability to predict beef eating quality for each ‘cut×cooking method combination’ from animal and carcass traits such as sex, age, breed, marbling, hot carcass weight and fatness, ageing time, etc. Following MSA testing protocols, a total of 22 different muscles, cooked by four different cooking methods and to three different degrees of doneness, were tasted by over 19 000 consumers from Northern Ireland, Poland, Ireland, France and Australia. Consumers scored the sensory characteristics (tenderness, flavor liking, juiciness and overall liking) and then allocated samples to one of four quality grades: unsatisfactory, good-every-day, better-than-every-day and premium. We observed that 26% of the beef was unsatisfactory. As previously reported, 68% of samples were allocated to the correct quality grades using the MSA grading scheme. Furthermore, only 7% of the beef unsatisfactory to consumers was misclassified as acceptable. Overall, we concluded that an MSA-like grading scheme could be used to predict beef eating quality and hence underpin commercial brands or labels in a number of European countries, and possibly the whole of Europe. In addition, such an eating quality guarantee system may allow the implementation of an MSA genetic index to improve eating quality through genetics as well as through management. Finally, such an eating quality guarantee system is likely to generate economic benefits to be shared along the beef supply chain from farmers to retailors, as consumers are willing to pay more for a better quality product.

Accurately quantifying a consumer’s willingness to pay (WTP) for beef of different eating qualities is intrinsically linked to the development of eating-quality-based meat grading systems, and therefore the delivery of consistent, quality beef to the consumer. Following Australian MSA (Meat Standards Australia) testing protocols, over 19 000 consumers from Northern Ireland, Poland, Ireland, France and Australia were asked to detail their willingness to pay for beef from one of four categories that best described the sample; unsatisfactory, good-every-day, better-than-every-day or premium quality. These figures were subsequently converted to a proportion relative to the good-every-day category (P-WTP) to allow comparison between different currencies and time periods. Consumers also answered a short demographic questionnaire. Consumer P-WTP was found to be remarkably consistent between different demographic groups. After quality grade, by far the greatest influence on P-WTP was country of origin. This difference was unable to be explained by the other demographic factors examined in this study, such as occupation, gender, frequency of consumption and the importance of beef in the diet. Therefore, we can conclude that the P-WTP for beef is highly transferrable between different consumer groups, but not countries.

The most important factors known to influence the eating quality of beef are well established and include both pre- and post-slaughter events with many of the determinants interacting with each other. A substantial programme of work has been conducted by the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute in Northern Ireland aimed at quantifying those factors of most importance to the local beef industry. Post-slaughter effects such as carcase chilling and electrical stimulation, ageing, carcase hanging and cooking method have been shown to have a significant impact on eating quality when compared with pre-slaughter activities such as animal handling and lairage time in the Northern Ireland studies. However, the effect of animal breed, particularly the use of dairy breed animals, was shown to significantly improve eating quality. Many of these factors were found to interact with each other.

Effects of three diphenylether herbicides [2,4-dichlorophenyl-p-nitrophenyl ether (nitrofen); 2,4,6-trichlorophenyl-4′-nitrophenyl ether (hereinafter referred to as MC-1478); and 2,4′-dinitro-4-trifluoromethyl-diphenylether (hereinafter referred to as C-6989)] were measured on phosphorylation and electron transport in spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) chloroplasts, and mung bean (Phaseolus aureus L., var. Jumbo) and white potato tuber (Solarium tuberosum L.) mitochondria. All of the diphenylethers acted primarily as inhibitors of chloroplast noncyclic electron transport, and the coupled photophosphorylation. The compounds ranked in the following decreasing order of inhibitory effectiveness: MC-1478 ≥ C-6989 >> nitrofen. A site of action close to light reaction II was suggested. At high molar concentrations, marginal interference with cyclic electron transport or phosphorylation was obtained. In mitochondria, MC-1478 and nitrofen acted primarily as electron transport inhibitors with malate, NADH, and succinate as substrates. MC-1478 was a slightly stronger inhibitor than nitrofen. Only slight stimulation of ADP-limited oxygen uptake was obtained during the oxidation of NADH and succinate; whereas, strong inhibition of oxygen uptake was obtained with malate. C-6989 also weakly stimulated ADP-limited oxygen uptake with NADH and succinate but differed from the two chlorinated diphenylethers in that electron transport was not inhibited when ADP was present in excess. Interference with ATP generation could be one of the mechanisms through which the phytotoxicity of diphenylether herbicides is expressed.

The adsorption of picloram (4-amino-3,5,6-trichloropicolinic acid) was determined on an Aiken silt loam, on three cation exchange resins and on a single anion exchange resin. Adsorption data were evaluated using parameters in the Freundlich equation and their dependance upon cationic composition of the exchange complex, the ionic composition of the equilibrium solution, and the equilibrium solution pH. For the Aiken soil saturated with metallic cations the order of decreasing picloram adsorptive capacity was Fe+3 = Cu+2 > Al+3 > Zn+2 > Ca+2 > native soil. Increases in adsorption compared to the native Aiken soil could be explained on the basis of decreases in the equilibrium solution pH except for Fe+3, Zn+2, and especially the Cu+2 treatments. The adsorptive capacity of the Aiken soil was altered by the addition of several salts simulating addition of fertilizer salts. The Cu+2 and Zn+2 salts were the only treatments showing increased adsorption which could not be explained readily by pH changes. KH2PO4 and NH2CONH2 (urea) reduced picloram adsorption. Dowex 50-1 × 4, a strongly acidic cation exchange resin, showed increased picloram adsorptive capacity in the order Cu+2 > Al+3 > Ca+2 > Zn+2 = H+. Cellex CM, a weakly acidic cellulose exchanger had increased adsorptive capacities in the order of Cu+2 > Ca+2 > Al+3 > Na+ > Fe+3 > Zn+2. Picloram adsorption by an anion exchange resin at pH 6.1 was nearly 100%. These results suggest that complex formation of picloram with polyvalent cations on the exchange complex is likely especially for Cu+2 and to a lesser extent Fe+3 and Zn+2. In soils such complex reactions would most probably involve organic matter, polyvalent cations, and picloram. The formation of chelate ring species is proposed.

To achieve their conservation goals individuals, communities and organizations need to acquire a diversity of skills, knowledge and information (i.e. capacity). Despite current efforts to build and maintain appropriate levels of conservation capacity, it has been recognized that there will need to be a significant scaling-up of these activities in sub-Saharan Africa. This is because of the rapid increase in the number and extent of environmental problems in the region. We present a range of socio-economic contexts relevant to four key areas of African conservation capacity building: protected area management, community engagement, effective leadership, and professional e-learning. Under these core themes, 39 specific recommendations are presented. These were derived from multi-stakeholder workshop discussions at an international conference held in Nairobi, Kenya, in 2015. At the meeting 185 delegates (practitioners, scientists, community groups and government agencies) represented 105 organizations from 24 African nations and eight non-African nations. The 39 recommendations constituted six broad types of suggested action: (1) the development of new methods, (2) the provision of capacity building resources (e.g. information or data), (3) the communication of ideas or examples of successful initiatives, (4) the implementation of new research or gap analyses, (5) the establishment of new structures within and between organizations, and (6) the development of new partnerships. A number of cross-cutting issues also emerged from the discussions: the need for a greater sense of urgency in developing capacity building activities; the need to develop novel capacity building methodologies; and the need to move away from one-size-fits-all approaches.

The beef industry must become more responsive to the changing market place and consumer demands. An essential part of this is quantifying a consumer’s perception of the eating quality of beef and their willingness to pay for that quality, across a broad range of demographics. Over 19 000 consumers from Northern Ireland, Poland, Ireland and France each tasted seven beef samples and scored them for tenderness, juiciness, flavour liking and overall liking. These scores were weighted and combined to create a fifth score, termed the Meat Quality 4 score (MQ4) (0.3×tenderness, 0.1×juiciness, 0.3×flavour liking and 0.3×overall liking). They also allocated the beef samples into one of four quality grades that best described the sample; unsatisfactory, good-every-day, better-than-every-day or premium. After the completion of the tasting panel, consumers were then asked to detail, in their own currency, their willingness to pay for these four categories which was subsequently converted to a proportion relative to the good-every-day category (P-WTP). Consumers also answered a short demographic questionnaire. The four sensory scores, the MQ4 score and the P-WTP were analysed separately, as dependant variables in linear mixed effects models. The answers from the demographic questionnaire were included in the model as fixed effects. Overall, there were only small differences in consumer scores and P-WTP between demographic groups. Consumers who preferred their beef cooked medium or well-done scored beef higher, except in Poland, where the opposite trend was found. This may be because Polish consumers were more likely to prefer their beef cooked well-done, but samples were cooked medium for this group. There was a small positive relationship with the importance of beef in the diet, increasing sensory scores by about 4% in Poland and Northern Ireland. Men also scored beef about 2% higher than women for most sensory scores in most countries. In most countries, consumers were willing to pay between 150 and 200% more for premium beef, and there was a 50% penalty in value for unsatisfactory beef. After quality grade, by far the greatest influence on P-WTP was country of origin. Consumer age also had a small negative relationship with P-WTP. The results indicate that a single quality score could reliably describe the eating quality experienced by all consumers. In addition, if reliable quality information is delivered to consumers they will pay more for better quality beef, which would add value to the beef industry and encourage improvements in quality.

Quantifying consumer responses to beef across a broad range of demographics, nationalities and cooking methods is vitally important for any system evaluating beef eating quality. On the basis of previous work, it was expected that consumer scores would be highly accurate in determining quality grades for beef, thereby providing evidence that such a technique could be used to form the basis of and eating quality grading system for beef. Following the Australian MSA (Meat Standards Australia) testing protocols, over 19 000 consumers from Northern Ireland, Poland, Ireland, France and Australia tasted cooked beef samples, then allocated them to a quality grade; unsatisfactory, good-every-day, better-than-every-day and premium. The consumers also scored beef samples for tenderness, juiciness, flavour-liking and overall-liking. The beef was sourced from all countries involved in the study and cooked by four different cooking methods and to three different degrees of doneness, with each experimental group in the study consisting of a single cooking doneness within a cooking method for each country. For each experimental group, and for the data set as a whole, a linear discriminant function was calculated, using the four sensory scores which were used to predict the quality grade. This process was repeated using two conglomerate scores which are derived from weighting and combining the consumer sensory scores for tenderness, juiciness, flavour-liking and overall-liking, the original meat quality 4 score (oMQ4) (0.4, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3) and current meat quality 4 score (cMQ4) (0.3, 0.1, 0.3, 0.3). From the results of these analyses, the optimal weightings of the sensory scores to generate an ‘ideal meat quality 4 score (MQ4)’ for each country were calculated, and the MQ4 values that reflected the boundaries between the four quality grades were determined. The oMQ4 weightings were far more accurate in categorising European meat samples than the cMQ4 weightings, highlighting that tenderness is more important than flavour to the consumer when determining quality. The accuracy of the discriminant analysis to predict the consumer scored quality grades was similar across all consumer groups, 68%, and similar to previously reported values. These results demonstrate that this technique, as used in the MSA system, could be used to predict consumer assessment of beef eating quality and therefore to underpin a commercial eating quality guarantee for all European consumers.

Background: Trigeminal neuralgia (TGN) is usually caused by arterial compression of the trigeminal nerve. There are very few cases caused by intra-axial brainstem masses. Little information is therefore available regarding the response to incomplete resection of offending lesions. We present one such case, and systematically review the published in the literature. Methods: Case report and systematic review of MEDLINE and EMBASE Results: Case report: A seven year-old girl is referred with typical TGN pain. MRI revealed a cervicomedullary tumor with no abnormalities of the pons or trigeminal nerve. Subtotal resection under neurophysiologic monitoring was achieved, leaving a small residual attached near the expected location of the trigeminal spinal nucleus and tract.Patient recovered well with resolution of her TGN pain. She is asymptomatic seven years post-operatively. Literature Review: We found no other published cases in children or secondary to gliomas. Among reviewed cases, only two underwent surgery. Both were adults with brainstem cavernomas and both reported substantial improvement despite incomplete resection. Conclusions: Our case as well as literature review both show that surgical resection is beneficial in such cases and, even if subtotal, can result in substantial pain relief. This suggests intra-axial compression of the trigeminal spinal nucleus and tract as the possible cause of TGN pain in such cases.