Conspicuous visual signals do not coevolve with increased body size in marine sea slugs.

Many taxa use conspicuous colouration to attract mates, signal chemical defences (aposematism) or for thermoregulation. Conspicuousness is a key feature of aposematic signals, and experimental evidence suggests that predators avoid conspicuous prey more readily when they exhibit larger body size and/or pattern elements. Aposematic prey species may therefore evolve a larger body size due to predatory selection pressures, or alternatively, larger prey species may be more likely to evolve aposematic colouration. Therefore, a positive correlation between conspicuousness and body size should exist. Here, we investigated whether there was a phylogenetic correlation between the conspicuousness of animal patterns and body size using an intriguing, understudied model system to examine questions on the evolution of animal signals, namely nudibranchs (opisthobranch molluscs). We also used new ways to compare animal patterns quantitatively with their background habitat in terms of intensity variance and spatial frequency power spectra. In studies of aposematism, conspicuousness is usually quantified using the spectral contrast of animal colour patches against its background; however, other components of visual signals, such as pattern, luminance and spectral sensitivities of potential observers, are largely ignored. Contrary to our prediction, we found that the conspicuousness of body patterns in over 70 nudibranch species decreased as body size increased, indicating that crypsis was not limited to a smaller body size. Therefore, alternative selective pressures on body size and development of colour patterns, other than those inflicted by visual hunting predators, may act more strongly on the evolution of aposematism in nudibranch molluscs.

Conspicuousness is correlated with toxicity in marine opisthobranchs.

Aposematism is defined as the use of conspicuous colouration to warn predators that an individual is chemically or otherwise defended. Mechanisms that drive the evolution of aposematism are complex. Theoretical and empirical studies show that conspicuousness can be either positively or negatively correlated with toxicity as once aposematism is established, species can allocate resources into becoming more conspicuous and/or increase secondary defences. Here, we investigated the evolution of conspicuousness and toxicity in marine opisthobranchs. Conspicuousness of colour signals was assessed using spectral reflectance measurements and theoretical vision models from the perspective of two reef fish signal receivers. The relative toxicity of chemicals extracted from each opisthobranch species was then determined using toxicity assays. Using a phylogenetic comparative analysis, we found a significant correlation between conspicuousness and toxicity, indicating that conspicuousness acts as an honest signal when signifying level of defence and provides evidence for aposematism in opisthobranchs.

Regression versus no regression in the autistic disorder: developmental trajectories.

Developmental regression is a complex phenomenon which occurs in 20-49% of the autistic population. Aim of the study was to assess possible differences in the development of regressed and non-regressed autistic preschoolers. We longitudinally studied 40 autistic children (18 regressed, 22 non-regressed) aged 2-6 years. The following developmental areas were considered fundamental in the first years of life, and were assessed at ages 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6: receptive and expressive language, communicative and request modalities, play activities, and mental age. Children who regressed showed lower mean performances than those who did not regress and, in the time intervals considered, non-regressed children improved their ratings in the above mentioned variables significantly more than regressed children.

An open-label study of controlled-release melatonin in treatment of sleep disorders in children with autism.

Long-term effectiveness of controlled-release melatonin in 25 children, aged 2.6-9.6 years with autism without other coexistent pathologies was evaluated openly. Sleep patterns were studied using Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ) and sleep diaries at baseline, after 1-3-6 months melatonin treatment and 1 month after discontinuation. Sleep diary and CSHQ showed a more problematic sleep in autistic children compared with controls. During treatment sleep patterns of all children improved. After discontinuation 16 children returned to pre-treatment score, readministration of melatonin was again effective. Treatment gains were maintained at 12 and 24-month follow-ups. No adverse side effects were reported. In conclusion, controlled-release melatonin may provide an effective and well-tolerated treatment for autistic children with chronic sleep disorders.

[Towards the standardization of sentinel lymph node analysis in women with breast cancer]. / Verso una standardizzazione dell'analisi del linfonodo sentinella in donne con cancro della mammella.

Sentinel lymph node biopsy allows enhanced pathology through serial sections and immunohistochemical analysis of the retrieved node, with detection of micrometastases and isolated tumor cells not otherwise recognized. We present our experience with a simple, effective, pathology protocol requiring six couples of sections at three different sentinel lymph node levels. Additional micrometastases or ITC were diagnosed in 51/416 patients (14.6%).

Sleep problems and daytime behavior in childhood idiopathic epilepsy.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the presence of sleep problems and their association with behavioral and adjustment problems in children with idiopathic epilepsy. METHODS: A parental questionnaire was used to assess sleep problems in 89 children with idiopathic epilepsy for comparisons with 49 siblings and 321 healthy control children, equally distributed for age and sex. Sleep problems were clustered into five factors: parasomnias, parent/child interaction during the night, sleep fragmentation, daytime drowsiness, and bedtime difficulties. Daytime behavior and psychological adjustment were assessed by means of the Child Behavior Checklist. Maternal distress and disturbance was evaluated by the Malaise Inventory. The better to identify factors associated with sleep problems in the children with epilepsy, multiple regression analysis was performed. RESULTS: Children with epilepsy showed significantly more sleep problems than did both siblings and healthy controls. Within the epileptic group, children with current seizures complained more of sleep problems than did the seizure-free children. Moreover, children with epilepsy showed more behavioral problems and maladjustment. Age, paroxysmal activity density, duration of illness, seizure frequency, and behavioral problems were significantly associated with sleep problems in the epileptic group. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study in a highly selected sample pointed out the presence of sleep problems, and adjustment and behavioral problems in children with idiopathic epilepsy. The presence of epilepsy, although benign, in childhood is associated with adaptive problems of the child. From this point of view, the alteration of some sleep habits may be a sign of emotional maladjustment. Although parents failed to perceive them as a problem, our findings indicate that attention to sleep and behavioral problems is important in clinical management of children with idiopathic epilepsy.

Prevalence of sleep disorders in childhood and adolescence with headache: a case-control study.

Although a relationship between headache and sleep disturbances has been reported in adults, only few data have been available in children. Accordingly, we performed a survey to determine the prevalence of sleep disturbances in children with migraine and tension-type headache. A questionnaire of history and clinical data and of sleep disturbances was given to parents of 283 headache subjects (164 with migraine and 119 with tension-type headache). Results were compared to a normative group comparable for age and sex of 893 normal healthy subjects. Migraine subjects showed a higher prevalence of sleep disturbances during infancy as well as 3-month colic. In both headache groups, more parents had sleep disturbances and there was a higher occurrence of co-sleeping and napping. A high frequency of sleep disturbances involving sleep quality, night awakenings, nocturnal symptoms and daytime sleepiness was reported in headache children. No statistical differences were found in the prevalence of sleep disturbances between migraine and tension-type headache. However, the migraine group tended to have "disturbed sleep" more often with increased prevalence of nocturnal symptoms such as sleep breathing disorders and parasomnias. Our results give further support to an association between sleep and migraine that may have a common intrinsic origin.

The Sleep Disturbance Scale for Children (SDSC). Construction and validation of an instrument to evaluate sleep disturbances in childhood and adolescence.

To attempt a categorization of sleep disorders in children, we developed a 27 item Likert-type rating scale (Sleep Disturbance Scale for Children: SDSC) and assessed the psychometric properties was developed. The scale was distributed to the mothers of 1304 children (1157 controls, mean age 9.8 y; 147 sleep disorder subjects, mean age 9.2y, composed of four clinical groups: Insomnia 39 subjects, Hypersomnia 12 subjects, Respiratory disturbances during sleep 25 subjects and Parasomnias 71 subjects). The internal consistency was high in controls (0.79) and remained at a satisfactory level in sleep disorder subjects (0.71); the test/retest reliability was adequate for the total (r = 0.71) and single item scores. The factor analysis (variance explained 44.21%) yielded six factors which represented the most common areas of sleep disorders in childhood and adolescence. Enuresis was the only item with a factor loading lower than 0.40 and with a low inter-item correlation and was therefore eliminated, resulting in a final scale of 26 items. The re-evaluation of the sample, using the factor scores, supported the validity and the discriminating capacity of the scales between controls and the four clinical groups. The correlation between factor scores corroborated the hypothesis that childhood sleep disturbances are not independent entities nor do they cluster into different groupings related to each other. The SDSC appears to be a useful tool in evaluating the sleep disturbances of school-age children in clinical and non-clinical populations.

Sleep characteristics in healthy children from birth to 6 years of age in the urban area of Rome.

The current survey is an attempt to evaluate age-specific sleep characteristics and to identify the presence of sleep problems in Italian normally developing preschool-aged children. A cross-sectional survey by parental interview on sleep behavior was carried out on 2,889 children (from birth to 6 years). Groups were formed based on age level. Results showed a developmental trend of some sleep characteristics, regarding mainly the length of sleep and rating of night wakings. Comparison with other studies showed that the children in this study had a later sleep onset time and slept less than children of the same age living in some other countries. These dissimilarities may be due to sociocultural and climate differences. Sleep problems (sleep latency longer than 30 minutes or disruptive night wakings) were found in 35% of children less than 2 years old, in 23% of 2-3-year-olds and in 14% of 4-6-year-olds. Children with sleep problems slept significantly less (on average 30-40 minutes across all age levels, required parental presence at time of sleep onset and shared their parents' bed more frequently than those without sleeping problems.

Sleep disorders in tuberous sclerosis: a polysomnographic study.

Overnight polysomnography was performed in 10 subjects with tuberous sclerosis (TS) and partial epilepsy in order to investigate the relationships between sleep organization, sleep disorders and epilepsy. Sleep architecture abnormalities were observed in 9 cases. Compared with ten healthy age-matched controls, the TS group showed a shorter total sleep time, a reduced sleep efficiency, a higher number of awakenings and stage transitions, an increased wake after sleep onset and stage 1 and a decreased REM sleep. Children with seizures showed a more disrupted sleep architecture compared with seizure-free children. Sleep disorders in TS were mainly due to sleep-related epileptic events and were more evident in children who showed large bifrontal or temporal tubers on MRI.

[Continuous localized EEG discharge during sleep in children without neuropsychological problems]. / Décharges EEG localisées continues pendant le sommeil chez des enfants sans troubles neuropsychiques.

After having reported continuous localized EEG discharge during slow sleep (CLEDS) in six children with congenital encephalopathy, we observed a similar EEG picture in six children free from both neuropsychological and neuroradiological defects. They suffered from partial idiopathic epilepsy; five presented a familial disposition towards febrile seizures. Continuous paroxysmal activity during sleep was observed from 4.8 yrs to 4.11 yrs (mean age: 4.9 yrs). Spontaneous remission of CLEDS was observed in three cases after 2-25 months, but one or more relapses occurred in two cases, and five children are still suffering from CLEDS. Seizures were controlled by drugs in all cases. Deterioration of intelligence level, although not severe, was observed in one case, after 24 months of CLEDS.

Partial childhood epilepsy and reaction time: the effect of interictal EEG discharges.

A study was conducted on seven children (five females and two males, aged 5.7-13.1 years) affected with partial epilepsy which was well controlled by therapy. A computer was connected on-line to a polygraph and during two EEG recordings, the subject had to react to the appearance of a colored rectangle on the display screen by pushing a key on the keyboard: these events were automatically marked on the trace of a polygraphic channel. By means of Anova analysis it was demonstrated that during the same recording, reactions simultaneous to paroxysmal discharges were not significantly slower than those measured during free intervals. However, in the same patient, reaction times were significantly prolonged during recordings characterized by a higher rate of EEG paroxysmal activity.

[Aseptic resection of the intraluminal colon in laparoscopy]. / Resezione di colon intraluminale asettica in laparoscopia.

Laparoscopic surgery is an "old" technique extending to new applications including colon surgery. Basically, even though surgical technique and indications do not differ from traditional surgery, it has the advantage to eliminate most of the complications associated with an abdominal incision. In order to improve also the outcome of intestinal anastomoses, an aseptic technique by intestinal intussusception previously described (3) has been modified and carried out laparoscopically in 3 pigs and 3 dogs successfully. The animals were sacrificed after 2 months. Anastomoses were evaluated endoscopically by barium enema and by gross and microscopic examination. Results indicated no mortality or complications except for a small area of mucosal peri-anastomotic necrosis in one dog, which spontaneously healed. Therefore, it seems that the aseptic resection of the colon is possible with laparoscopy obtaining at the same time a decreased morbidity related to the abdominal incision and colonic anastomosis.

The effect of niaprazine on some common sleep disorders in children. A double-blind clinical trial by means of continuous home-videorecorded sleep.

A placebo-controlled double-blind clinical trial on the effect of niaprazine on children with some common sleep disorders was carried out. Niaprazine at a daily dosage of 1 mg/kg body weight or placebo at random was administered to a selected group of 36 children (aged from 6 months to 6 years) suffering from frequent nighttime waking or inability to fall asleep. The effect of niaprazine (or placebo) on sleep disorders was studied by means of continuous home-videorecorded sleep before and after the trial. A reliable positive effect of niaprazine on the sleep disorders considered was found. No adverse side effects were observed. We conclude that niaprazine seems to represent an effective and safe drug for the therapy of frequent nighttime waking and inability to fall asleep.

Neuropsychological aspects of tuberous sclerosis in relation to epilepsy and MRI findings.

The neuropsychological performances, outcome of epilepsy and MRI topography of tubers of 23 children with tuberous sclerosis were reviewed. Seven children had normal intelligence, 10 had mental retardation, and six mental retardation and autism. An adverse association was found between the number of lesions and IQ, behaviour and severity of epilepsy. Posterior lesions, in addition to frontal-lobe dysfunction, were observed in children with autism. Tuberous sclerosis with well-defined cerebral lesions may represent a model for the relationship between different neuropsychiatric problems.

[Partial splenectomy using a stapler and the role of regeneration of the residual splenic stump]. / Splenectomie parziali con stapler e ruolo della rigenerazione del moncone splenico residuo.

Current evidence indicates that only complete or partial intact spleen can protect the organism against pneumococcal sepsis. What is not clear is the amount of minimal splenic tissue needed to protect the organism against such infection. This study has been carried out on 20 dogs which underwent partial or total splenectomy with stapler. Animals were divided into 8 groups according to the quantity of the remnant splenic tissue: 0% (4 dogs); 5% (4); 15% (1); 25% (1); 35% (2); 50% (2); 75% (2); 100% (4), and were followed up for 6 and 12 months. No mortality or bleeding was registered. Results showed a splenic regeneration, histologically demonstrated as an increased number of germinal follicles, in 12 out of 16 dogs, more evident in the animals sacrificed at one year. In conclusion, even a small amount (5%) of splenic tissue preserved with its blood supply can regenerate and acquire with time enough immunological function to protect the organism against post-splenectomy sepsis.

Personality inventory for children and childhood migraine. A case-controlled study.

The personality inventory for children (PIC), which is similar in structure to the MMPI and hence free from subjective interpretation, is applicable to children from 6 to 16 years of age. We used it in 40 children with common migraine aged 8 to 14 years and in 40 controls comparable in age, sex, and socioeconomic status. Although the migraine subjects did not emerge as globally different from the controls, they presented significantly higher scores on the Somatic concern, Depression, and Anxiety scales, irrespective of sex. These results underline the value of PIC in the diagnostic assessment of childhood migraine.